One World, One Love
Love Parade – The Mother of all Techno Parades
To millions of ravers worldwide, it was the holiday of the techno movement, to others simply the party of their life, and to still others the largest peace demonstration ever: the Love Parade.
From 1989 to 2003, it was held annually in Berlin and attracted record attendance of 1.5 million people who danced together, peacefully and carefree to electronic music in 1999. The spirit of Love, Peace, Unity & Respect is still at home at electronic music festivals and events around the world.
In 2004 and 2005, the parade was cancelled due to funding problems. As a result, the “Loveparade” brand changed hands, moved from Berlin to the Ruhr area and met its temporary end there in a disaster in 2010.
“When will the Love Parade return?” The call has been getting louder and louder for years. It’s time for a new chapter in the history of the parade. Back home in Berlin, with the heads of the first hour.
Let’s rave the planet!
Peace, Joy, Pancakes
In many aspects the year 1989 was memorable. But for the delicate plant of electronic music and club culture, there is a date, a very special day, when everything changed: July 1st – the day of the first Love Parade.
Under the motto “Peace, Joy, Pancakes” about 150 clubbers gathered and danced to the sounds of their new music “Acid House” along the West Berlin shopping mile on Berlin’s Kurfuerstendamm. In doing so, they revolutionized German demonstration culture and laid the foundation for the largest youth music movement the world had ever seen.
1989
1990-1999
Reunification on the Dance Floor
The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the German reunification put the city of Berlin in a positive state of emergency. Suddenly there was a lot of space and unexpected possibilities. Vacant buildings and unclear responsibilities of the authorities offered a paradise for the creative scene. Legendary clubs such as the Planet, the E-Werk, the Tresor and many more were born. East and West Germany came together on the dance floors and celebrated liberty while raving to the sounds of the new electronic music.
The Love Parade struck exactly the nerve of the time. Mottos like “The Future Is Ours” (1990), “We Are One Family” (1996) and ” One World One Future” (1998) were the messages of a young, open-minded and free generation to a war-torn world.
The number of Love Parade attendees grew rapidly. The Ku’damm had become too small and so in 1996 the parade was given a new home in the heart of Berlin, on the Straße des 17. In just ten years, 150 people became an incredible 1.5 million ravers, dancing together, peacefully, under the motto “Music Is The Key” in 1999.
The most peaceful party in the world
At the very beginning of the noughties, all signs still seemed to point to peace, joy, pancakes. But the voices of the critics grew louder and finally could no longer be ignored, when in 2001, on the planned date of the Love Parade, a counter-event was registered and the route was thus occupied.
Although the Federal Constitutional Court generally recognizes musical demonstrations as an expression of freedom of speech, the Love Parade lost its demonstration status in summary proceedings. It was postponed for a week and from then on Berlin charged the costs of waste disposal, security and street cleaning.
In 2002 and 2003, festivities continued on the street, but no suitable new funding concept could be found. Financial reserves were used up, new dates began to falter, sponsors dropped out. The parade was cancelled in 2004 and 2005 and the Loveparade GmbH faced insolvency.
In November 2005, the “Loveparade” brand was sold.
2000-2005
2006-2010
Loss of the Spirit
After the sale of the “Loveparade” brand in November 2005, it only took place once in Berlin, in the summer of 2006. it then moved to the Ruhr area, where it performed first in Dortmund (2007) and then Essen (2008).
Thereafter it moved to the Ruhr area, where it performed first in Dortmund (2007) and then Essen (2008). In the following year, the parade was cancelled because the mayor of Bochum did not consider an event of this size feasible in his city.
In 2010, the parade came to a sad end with a mass panic in Duisburg in which 21 people died and hundreds were traumatized. At a press conference the day after, the new owner announced that “…out of respect for the victims, their families and friends, we will not continue the event. This also means the end of the Love Parade.”
A new Chapter: Rave The Planet
Berlin 2019 – almost a full decade has passed since the last Love Parade. This summer marks its 30th anniversary. Preparations for a special exhibition on the history of the parade are in full swing: “30 Years of Loveparade” is scheduled to open on July 01 and will be on display in Berlin for six months. (www.nineties.berlin)
Its inventor, Dr. Motte, and the team of nineties berlin, the multimedia exhibition about Berlin in the nineties, have joined forces for this. Suddenly, an idea is in the air… “Let’s bring it back! And let’s do it properly this time.”
On January 13, 2020, the time finally came and we introduced ourselves to the world: Rave The Planet!
2020
