200,000 People Attended Berlin's 'Rave The Planet' Parade 'Love Parade'

13 July 2022 | 11:15 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

The founder was caught controversially holding up a symbol from an anti-lockdown and far right associated organisation.

On Saturday the 9th of July, over 200,000 people took to Berlin's streets to attend the Rave The Planet parade.

The parade took place from 2pm until late in the evening and features over 100 DJs and a range of floats.

The music was provided by stalwart local institutions including Anomalie Art Club, BEAST and Revolver. Diconnekt and Gegan Berlin also hosted a float, as well as De L'afrqique.

It was organised by Dr. Motte, who was responsible for some of the earliest acid-house parties in Berlin in the late 1980s. How founded the Love Parade which shifted to Rave The Planet in 2020. He spoke to DJ Mag after the event to say, "What a day. Unbelievable. We brought the spirit of the Love Parade back to Berlin. We did it, and with the best intentions. We, as the non-profit Rave the Planet organisation, worked long and hard on it. We all felt the rhythm and the bass in the streets of Berlin and the music brought us together."

Motte received a large amount of criticism after the event for holding up the symbol of the infamous Querdenker COVID conspiracy group during the festivals procession during the streets. The organisation has an extreme anti-vaccine stance and alleged association with far right, anti-Semitic groups.

Motte denied association with the group, Tweeting that he had, "no idea how the sticker had gotten onto his parade float" and that he did not recognise the group.

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"I hereby distance myself from lateral thinkers and similar organizations. Never again fascism. May all people and animals be happy,"

During his speech at the rally, he urged for UNESCO to recognise Berlin's techno heritage and advocated for Universal Basic Income for all artists and the end to dancing bans on religious holidays.