COLOGNE (GERMANY), July 3. (DPA/EP) –
More than a million people have participated in the march held in Cologne for the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans in the German city of Cologne, according to police figures.
In the parade in favor of tolerance and diversity that toured the downtown streets, there was a record participation with some 180 groups and floats. According to the organizers, some 1.2 million people participated in the event, which passed without incident.
International Pride Day commemorates in various parts of the world what happened in New York in 1969, when the Police broke into the bar “Stonewall Inn” on Christopher Street, unleashing demonstrations and riots for several days by the LGBT community, in repudiation to the persecutions.
The Cologne march is one of the largest events for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community in Europe.
Despite the party atmosphere, the movement took the opportunity to denounce the increased pressure from homophobic and transphobic groups, according to Jens Pielhau, member of the board of directors of the Cologne association organizing the march (KLuST).
“We want to demonstrate against this in a peaceful and free way, while celebrating and showing that we are many”, he pointed out.
With the demonstration, Cologne sends “a strong signal in favor of diversity, tolerance, against hatred and against exclusion”, said the Prime Minister of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wuest, the first to his position attending the march, which has been going on for three decades.
The parade was the highlight of a weekend of popular festivals with various stages in the old town of Cologne. After two years of severe restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was able to be held again in the usual setting.
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