Berlin gay pride parade draws 700,000
GERMANY: Camp costumes and colourful drag flooded the streets of
Berlin on Saturday as hundreds of thousands took part in the city's
annual Christopher Street Day gay pride parade. Marching and dancing to
thumping techno music, the crowds made their way from the cosmopolitan
Kreuzberg district to the Brandenburg Gate, where DJs and musicians were
scheduled to keep the party going until midnight.
The German capital's gay mayor, Klaus Wowereit, kicked off the event.
Organisers said 700,000 people had taken part in the parade, which
celebrated its 34th anniversary this year.
The treatment of homosexuals in Russia was a hot topic at the parade,
with some participants bearing giant portraits of President Vladimir
Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev retouched in the flamboyant
style of gay French artists Pierre and Gilles.
AFP |