This was Munich Pride 2024
Thousands of people attended the Pride Parade and Street Festival in Munich on Saturday. The central concern was the fight against the right
Munich, 23 June 2024 - The mission was clear to many participants: this year, everything is at stake. Following the shift to the right in the European elections, many queer people now also fear for their self-determined lives in their own country if parties like the AfD win the up-coming elections in Eastern Germany.
This became particularly clear during the Pride March. It wasn't just about partying: many - especially young people - showed their support with signs such as "CSD instead of AfD", "Love is a Human Right", "You can't ban love. But you can ban nazi parties" or "Queer and free against right-wing tyranny". They made it clear that they are worried about their future. According to the police, 325,000 people attended Munich Gay Pride on Saturday - either as part of the 210 registered parade groups or of the street festival.
"We are delighted that so many people joined Munich's LGBTIQ* community in celebrating diversity and demonstrating against the right," says Alexander Kluge, Managing Director of Munich Pride. "325,000 people according to the police - that's a lot, but still fewer than last year. We are assuming that the poor weather forecast, competition from other major events this weekend, possibly also the security situation in a country that is currently experiencing a shift to the right, as well as the queer-hostile attacks surrounding last year's Bavarian Prides and the associated caution have deterred visitors from attending this year's Pride."
However, a political parade has never been more colourful. From Christian youth groups to queer teachers, choirs, drag artists, political parties, the LGBTIQ* departments of companies, sports clubs and cultural institutions to LGBTIQ* organisations, the entire spectrum of the community and its allies was on display. "United in diversity", they ran over 3.7 kilometres through the city "together against the right". The atmosphere was great, the whole event was peaceful and there were no incidents. The weather was fine until the evening.
PolitParade on a new route
As always, the political Parade was the highlight of both PrideWeeks. It marched from Mariahilfplatz through the trendy neighbourhood and along the Altstadtring past Sendlinger Tor and Stachus to Maximiliansplatz. Due to its size, however, the demonstration no longer ran through the narrow alleyways of the Gärtnerplatz neighbourhood. Exactly 210 groups had registered. MORE
PartyArea new at Odeonsplatz
The PartyArea, which moved to Odeonsplatz this year, was very well received by the audience, as was the new stage on Wittelsbacherplatz.
The stage on Wittelsbacherplatz complemented the programmes of the Main Stage on Marienplatz with its queer live acts and the talks on the Community Stage in Kaufingerstraße with electronic music and contributions from the Munich drag scene - but only on Saturday. This made the programme even more diverse. MORE
50 years of MLC - festival at the Rindermarkt
The Rindermarkt is back. What the CSD used to use as a party area this year provided space for the Munich Lions Club MLC, Europe's largest gay fetish club, to celebrate its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the CSD gave the club a one-off use of the Rindermarkt: And the club played there for two days with shows, games, discussions, culture and parties! Friendly queer fetish groups were also present. MORE
Rainbow FamiliesArea
What remained in a familiar place was the RegenbogenfamilienArea. It has been part of the Munich CSD for over ten years now. On Frauenplatz in front of the cathedral on Saturday, there was entertainment for the kids and a breather for parents with offers for information and dialogue. MORE
Street festival with more information stands and inclusion tent
The two-day street festival brought all the action in the city centre together with the three stage programmes, food and information stands. MORE
The latter attracted more groups, organisations and associations than ever before, with 87 participants. An awareness team and - for the first time - an inclusion team at the CSD information stand ensured that everyone had a good time on site.
Town hall clubbing
Last but not least, the CSD also celebrated another anniversary this year. The party in the town hall took place for the 20th time on 22 June. Guests braved the constant rain in the inner courtyard. MORE
New security concept
Safety was the top priority at this year's CSD. The organisers used a traffic light system to regulate the flow of visitors to Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz. At times there was a risk of overcrowding, so the traffic lights switched to red to prevent guests from passing by. There was therefore no risk to Pride guests at any time.
Live stream
If you didn't make it to the city centre, you can now watch the live stream of the event on YouTube. The camera team welcomed the participants of the PolitParade at Müllerstraße 26 in front of the LeZ. Later they went to the street party. The contributions were supplemented by live broadcasts to the main stage. MORE
LGBTIQ* people have been demonstrating for equal rights and acceptance in Munich for over 40 years. At the largest community event in southern Germany, which is supported by the lesbian-queer association LesCommunity, the gay-queer centre Sub, the Munich Aids-Hilfe, the Rosa Liste voter initiative and the queer youth organisation diversity München, more than 100 events (2024) take place during two PrideWeeks. Highlights include the PolitParade, the two-day street festival around Marienplatz and the RathausClubbing party event.
