CSD in Berlin or Berlin Pride. 2007
Dancers on a float at the 1998 CSD in Berlin.
Drag Queen Olivia Jones in CSD Hamburg. 2007
Members of the Cologne CSD 2006
Kreuzberg Pride 2009

Christopher Street Day (CSD) are annual LGBTQ+ Pride events in Germany and Switzerland taking place between June and August. The most prominent CSD events are Berlin Pride, CSD Hamburg, and ColognePride in Germany, and CSD Zürich in Switzerland.[1][2]

History

The CSD is held in memory of the Stonewall riots[3], the first big uprising of LGBT people against police assaults that took place at the Stonewall Inn, a bar on Manhattan, New York City's Christopher Street in the district of Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969.[4]

On Saturday, June 27, 1970, marches to mark the first anniversary of Stonewall were held in Chicago and San Francisco, followed on Sunday, June 28, 1970, by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade in New York and the Christopher Street West Association Parade in Los Angeles; the four gatherings were the first Pride parades in United States history.[5][6] To accommodate the interests of the many different groups participating, the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee named the days leading up to the march Gay Pride Week.[7] Pride Month is now celebrated internationally in June.[4]

The first German Christopher Street Day took place in Berlin on June 30, 1979 with 450 demonstrators.[3] It subsequently spread to other cities throughout Germany.[1]

Current situation

CSD Berlin started in 1979. Now almost every large city in Germany celebrates CSD, with the largest in Berlin (Berlin Pride), Hamburg (Hamburg Pride) and Cologne (Cologne Pride). When Cologne hosted Europride in 2002, it attracted 1.4 million participants and spectators to the city.[8]

Christopher Street Day events do not always take place on the historic date of June 27, but on different weekends between June and August. CSD events often include demonstrations, parades, and street fairs. A typical Christopher Street Day Parade includes floats as well as walking groups usually provided by and made up of members of LGBT organizations.[9]

CSD events have been described as having a festive party atmosphere. It is typical to see many drag queens, drag kings, and other people colorfully dressed.[10] BDSM enthusiasts also often participate in CSDs.[11] In addition to the Parade and the final rallies, in many cities there are days or up to whole weeks of street festivals and cultural events with artists, political events, lectures, readings, parties and other festivities.[12]

Similar events

In Berlin, Kreuzberg Pride (also known as Kreuzberger CSD, "Transgenialer" CSD or X*CSD), an alternative CSD event that centered on radical politics, ran from 1998 to 2013. This event spotlights issues such as refugees, drug treatment, housing and gentrifiation.[13][14]

Politicians attending

Politicians often participate in CSDs, including:

In some cities, politicians are also patrons of the CSD, for example in Hamburg, the former First Mayor Ortwin Runde, and Ole von Beust, in Dresden Mayor Ingolf Rossberg, in Würzburg Claudia Roth, in Munich the former Mayors Christian Ude and Dieter Reiter and in Brunswick, the former Federal Minister Jürgen Trittin.

CSD hosts in Germany

Over 150 cities in Germany hold annual CSD events,[15] with the most prominent ones being in Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Stonewall Riots and Christopher Street Day". The Game Magazine. 2024-07-22. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  2. ^ "Eine Reise durch 30 Jahre Zurich Pride – in 30 Bildern". Watson (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  3. ^ a b "Christopher Street Day 2026". berlin.de. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  4. ^ a b "It's officially Pride Month: Here's everything you should know about the global LGBTQ celebration". NBC News. 2024-06-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  5. ^ "Labor of "Love: The Birth of San Francisco Pride 1970~1980"". GLBT Historical Society.
  6. ^ "Gay New York". Archived from the original on 2011-10-14. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  7. ^ "Christopher Street Liberation Day March - OutHistory". Archived from the original on 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  8. ^ Rector, Todd (2018-06-04). "The World's Biggest Pride Parades". Explore. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  9. ^ "ColognePride 2026". colognepride.webflow.io. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  10. ^ "Christopher Street Day parades". www.deutschland.de. 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  11. ^ "Kink and fetish during Pride Month Berlin 2023 – Quälgeist Berlin e.V." quaelgeist.sm. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  12. ^ "Events - ColognePride 2025". colognepride.webflow.io. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  13. ^ Koch, Lennart (2021-12-10). "So queer ist Kreuzberg: tipBerlin-Guide für Pride, Party und Protest". tipBerlin (in German). Retrieved 2026-08-30.
  14. ^ "X marks the spot: Kreuzberg's alternative Pride". www.siegessaeule.de (in German). Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  15. ^ "CSD-Termine". CSD Deutschland (in German). Retrieved 2026-04-01.
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