August 29 in Cologne 10,000 people expected at Christopher Street Day Parade
Cologne · Around 10,000 people are expected at the Christopher Street Day parade in Cologne on August 29. Due to the pandemic, the event will take place on an altered route. Some important roads and bridges will be closed for the parade.
The Cologne Christopher Street Day Parade (CSD) will take place on Sunday, August 29, somewhat smaller than usual and on a different route than normal. Usually, the demonstration and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community in Cologne runs at the beginning of July, but due to the Covid pandemic it was postponed this year. Police announced on Tuesday that around 10,000 participants are expected, along with several floats.
"There are somewhat fewer participants, but we are still a giant demonstration," said Cologne Pride spokesman Hugo Winkels already last week. To ensure that distances could be kept, they changed the route. It will no longer lead through narrow inner city streets, but rather on the left bank of the Rhine from the Ubierring along the wide Rheinuferstrasse to the Heumarkt and then over the Deutzer Brücke (Deutz Bridge) to the Deutz train station. There, all participants are welcome in the CSD area around the Lanxess-Arena. The CSD combines a colorful festival with unusual stage performances, engaging speeches and emotional moments.
Rheinuferstrasse and Deutzer Brücke closed off
For the safety of the participants, the Rheinuferstrasse will be closed to motor vehicle traffic on both sides between Ubierring and Cäcilienstrasse from as early as 7 a.m. until around 4 p.m., the police announced. The use of the parking garage complex at the Rheinauhafen is not possible during this period.
The procession starts at 11:30 a.m. in Cologne's Südstadt district and disperses at around 4 p.m. in the area of the Lanxess Arena. The Deutz Bridge in the direction of the city center will be closed from 11 a.m. onwards. As well, the Auenweg in Cologne-Deutz will only be open to local traffic, according to the police. At the Waidmarkt construction site, the detour to Georgstrasse and Grosse Witschgasse via Rheinuferstrasse will not be open. The police expect considerable traffic disruptions throughout the day and recommend that people do not drive anywhere in the vicinity of the parade route.
Bicycle demo instead of CSD parade
According to organizers, the CSD parade in 2019 attracted 1.2 million visitors. Last year, it was postponed to the beginning of October and then took place on a much smaller scale - instead of the parade there was a procession on bicycles. It is not possible to predict how many visitors can be expected this year, said Winkels. But of course, fewer are expected than in normal years without Covid.
Christopher Street Day - internationally often called "Pride" - is a reminder in many places of the events that took place in 1969 in New York when police officers stormed the bar "Stonewall Inn" on Christopher Street and triggered a riot of gays, lesbians and transsexuals that lasted several days.
(Orig. text: ga/dpa; Translation: ck)
