From BZ/dpa
The Love Parade had its best times in the 1990s, ending in the disaster in Duisburg. Now their founder is planning a new rave in Berlin – what is that all about?
Loveparade founder Dr. Motte wants to bring a new techno spectacle to the streets with a music parade on July 9th in Berlin. “We continue to tell the story of the spirit of the Love Parade,” said the 61-year-old on Thursday. “We demonstrate how we imagine our lives to be.”
According to the organizers of the parade called “Rave The Planet”, 25,000 people are expected on the streets so far, but it could be more. 150 artists and 18 music floats are expected. The planned route leads from Kurfürstendamm, Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate in the direction of the Victory Column. In addition to music, speeches are planned, and an unconditional basic income of 12,000 euros a year is to be raffled off 25 times.
dr Motte at an appointment in Berlin-Wedding Photo: Siegfried Purschke
With the Love Parade that Dr. Motte as a brand hasn’t been heard for a long time and which ended catastrophically in Duisburg twelve years ago, he says has nothing to do with the new company. “This will be a happy event in which we will implement security concepts coordinated with the authorities,” he said. The DJ referred to the experience that Berlin has with major events.
The Rave The Planet Parade sees itself as a political demonstration with a catalog of demands, as the organizers emphasize. It is therefore about the recognition and preservation of electronic dance music culture as a cultural achievement. The motto is “Together again”.
The website states that two years of pandemic and social distancing have left their mark on society. It’s time to get over the divide and finally get back together. “The current world situation is also tense. Wars and horrific images, such as those in Ukraine at the moment, determine our everyday life and the media. Once again it is important to strengthen what is good and to show that there is another way.”
dr Motte, whose real name is Matthias Roeingh, founded the Love Parade in Berlin more than 30 years ago. In 1989 it was still a small festival, where 150 techno fans danced on the Kurfürstendamm under the motto “Peace, Joy, Pancakes”. Five years after the start, 120,000 ravers celebrated. In 1999 the organizers counted 1.5 million visitors.
Silent commemoration of the victims of the 2010 Loveparade disaster in Duisburg Photo: skm
Due to a lack of sponsors, the Loveparade was canceled in 2004 and 2005 – until a fitness studio entrepreneur stepped in. In Berlin, the parade soon found no consensus with the Senate and migrated to the Ruhr area, where it again attracted many visitors in Essen (2007) and Dortmund (2008). Bochum decided not to do so a year later for reasons of space and safety. In 2010, a catastrophe broke out in the crowd in Duisburg. 21 people died and more than 500 others were injured.
