loveparade

"SPANISH VERSION CLICK HERE" ----------------------------
"FRENCH VERSION CLICK HERE" ------------------------------The Love Parade is a popular festival and parade that originated in 1989 in Berlin, Germany, and has now spread throughout the world. Past Love Parades have occurred in Tel Aviv, Mexico City, Acapulco, Vienna, Cape Town, San Francisco, Sydney and Santiago. Only the Acapulco, Tel Aviv, Santiago, and Berlin Love Parades continue to operate.HISTORYThe Love Parade has its roots in the spirit of a changing Europe. In 1989, it was first celebrated 4 months before the demolition of the Berlin Wall. It was started by the fresh Berlin Underground under the initiative of Matthias Roeingh aka "Dr. Motte". It was held as a political demonstration for peace and international understanding through music.Until 1996, the parade was held on the famous Berlin "Ku'damm". Since by then, not only the Ku'damm was overcrowded but the streets and even railway tracks near the Ku'damm, too, the parade moved to the "Straße des 17. Juni" which is near the Tiergarten Park in the center of Berlin by the Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) and provided plenty of space. The center of the parade is the Siegessäule (Victory Column) in the middle of the park, and the golden angel atop the column has become a symbol of the parade.Many people from Germany, Poland, and other countries travel to Berlin to take part in the Parade — over a million attended in the years 1997 through 2000 and 800,000 in 2001. Attendance at the 2001 festival was significantly lower because the date of the parade was changed with little advance notice. 2002 and 2003 also saw lower figures, and in 2004 and 2005 the parade was canceled due to funding difficulties. In 2006, the parade made a comeback with the help of German exercise studio McFit. The parade saw its highest attendance in over 9 years.The music played at the events is predominantly electronic dance music: in this case mainly Trance, House, Techno, and Schranz music. Attempts to introduce other music styles, such as hip hop, have failed. Hardcore and Gabber music were part of the parade in early years, but were later removed. They are now celebrated separately on a counter-demonstration called "Fuckparade".Anyone who wants to experience Love Parade in the middle weekend of July should be aware of the fact that it is louder and more crowded than most concerts. With its water-cooled sound systems on every truck, the parade produces a sound floor of many megawatts. The parade basically lives through those trucks. The trucks usually feature local, or important, clubs and their DJs. It has become a rule that only trucks that have sponsors from a techno related field, such as clubs, labels or stores, are allowed. It costs a lot of money to equip a truck. They are usually open on top and feature dancers. Their box-systems are mounted on the side or the rear. There are two tactics to choose from: Follow a truck that features a style that you like, or have them all pass you so you can see more.Love Parade is a place where some exhibit and enjoy other people's exhibitionist tendencies. Some attendees enjoy carrying around toys such as pacifiers or facing masks. Often the crowd is imaginative in terms of clothing (or lack thereof) and appearance.One famous picture from the Love Parade is people sitting and dancing on streetlamps, trees, commercial signs, telephone booths, which gave the event's nickname "the greatest amateur circus on earth". Although it is not allowed, there is probably no better way to see and be seen. However some people used this for special jokes, like hanging up things such as bicycle locks, on trees and poles, but such actions are very rare. The police of Berlin are usually quite tolerant when it comes to people enjoying themselves. There haven't been any major incidents in over twelve years of parade history -- except the high drug use and people passing out due to dehydration or overheating, the number of injuries as well as the number of crimes is extraordinarily low. In 2000, after the parade, a girl under the influence of ecstasy was run over by an S-Bahn after she had been leaning on the door too hard.THE LOVE IS BACK LOVEPARADE..