One World, one Love
Love Parade – The Mother Of All Techno Parades
For millions of ravers worldwide, it was the holiday of the techno movement, for others simply the party of their lives, and for yet others, the world’s largest peace demonstration: the Love Parade.
From 1989 to 2003, it took place every year in Berlin, with record-breaking attendance of 1.5 million people who danced together peacefully and lighthearted to electronic music in 1999. The spirit of love, peace, unity and respect still lives on at electronic music festivals and events around the world today.
In 2004 and 2005, the parade was canceled due to financial issues. After that, the “Love Parade” brand changed ownership, moved from Berlin to the Ruhr region, and tragically met its end in 2010.
“When will the Loveparade come back?” The call has grown louder over the years. It was time for a new chapter in the history of the parade. Back in Berlin, with the original creators.
Let’s rave the planet!
Peace, Joy, Pancakes
The year 1989 was memorable in many ways. For the young sprout of electronic music and club culture, there’s a special day when everything changed: July 1, 1989 – the day of the first Love Parade.
Under the slogan “Peace, Joy, Pancakes”, around 150 clubgoers gathered on Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm for a political demonstration. But this one was going to be different from anything before.
To the beats of their new music, “Acid House”, they danced up and down the West Berlin shopping boulevard. This revolutionized the culture of demonstrations and laid the foundation for the biggest youth culture and music movement the world had ever seen.
And then the wall fell…
1989
1990-1999
Reunification on the Dancefloor
The fall of the Wall and the German reunification put the city of Berlin in an exceptionally positive state. Suddenly, there was plenty of space and unforeseen opportunities. Vacant buildings and unclear government responsibilities provided a paradise for the creative scene. Legendary clubs emerged, like “Planet”, “E-Werk”, “Tresor”, and more. People from both the East and West came together on the dancefloor to celebrate freedom, dancing to the sounds of the new electronic music.
The Love Parade perfectly captured the spirit of the time. Slogans like “The Future Is Ours” (1990), “We Are One Family” (1996), and “One World One Future” (1998) conveyed the messages of a young, open, and free generation to a world scarred by wars.
The number of Love Parade participants rapidly increased. The Kurfürstendamm was no longer large enough, so in 1996, the parade found a new home in the heart of Berlin, on the Straße des 17. Juni. In just ten years, 150 people turned into an incredible 1.5 million ravers who, in 1999, danced together peacefully under the motto “Music Is The Key”.
The World’s Most Peaceful Party
At the beginning of the 2000s, everything seemed to be all about peace and pancakes. However, the voices of the critics grew louder and couldn’t be ignored when in 2001, on the planned date of the Love Parade, a counter-event was registered, and the route was occupied.
Although the Federal Constitutional Court generally recognized music demonstrations as an expression of freedom of speech, the Love Parade lost its status as a demonstration in a fast-track legal procedure, and had to be postponed by a week. From that point on, Berlin began to calculate the costs for waste disposal, security, and street cleaning.
In the years 2002 and 2003, people continued to gather on the streets, but no suitable new financing concept could be found. Financial reserves were depleted, new dates were in jeopardy, and sponsors withdrew their support. The parade didn’t happen in 2004 and 2005, and company Loveparade Berlin GmbH faced insolvency.
In November 2005, the brand was eventually sold.
2000-2005
2006-2010
…
In the summer of 2006, the Love Parade could finally happen again. The slogan was “The Love Is Back”, but it was the last time it took place in Berlin. It then moved to the Ruhr area, where it was held in Dortmund (2007) and then Essen (2008).
But the following year, the parade was cancelled again. The mayor of the city of Bochum at the time did not consider an event of this size feasible in his city and issued a cancellation.
In 2010, the Love Parade met its tragic end in a mass panic in Duisburg, where 21 people lost their lives, and hundreds were traumatized and injured. Despite obvious planning mistakes, the question of guilt remains unresolved to this day.
At a press conference the day after, the new brand owner announced, “…out of respect for the victims, their families, and friends, we will no longer continue the event. This also means the end of the Love Parade.”
A New Chapter: Rave The Planet
Berlin 2019 – almost an entire decade has passed since the last Love Parade. Its 30th anniversary is approaching in the summer.
Preparations for a special exhibition are in full swing. “30 Years of Love Parade” is scheduled to open on July 1 and will be on show for six months at the Alte Münze in Berlin.
The so-called “Father” of the Love Parade, Dr. Motte, and the exhibition team from nineties berlin, have joined forces for this. Suddenly, an idea emerged, “Let’s do it again, and this time, let’s do it right.”
Finally, on January 13, 2020, it happened, and we introduced “Rave The Planet” to the world.
2020
