Berlin celebrates Pride parade with techno beats and rainbow flags

BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands of people danced to techno beats across Berlin on Saturday to celebrate the German capital's Pride parade, one of the largest LGBTQ+ celebrations in Europe.

With rainbow flags and bottles of beer, the city partied under overcast skies, an upgrade after days of downpours, to observe and honor Christopher Street Day.

“We need to represent pride is unity, pride is friendship, pride is love and we need to make sure that everybody knows that we were here in peace and in love to make it a better day for everybody,” said Jessica Benitaz, from Miami.

The annual parade commemorates the 1969 Stonewall rebellion in New York when a spontaneous street uprising was triggered by a police raid on the Stonewall Inn gay bar, on Christopher Street, in Greenwich Village.

Berlin's parade took revelers past the iconic Brandenburg Gate and through the Nollendorfplatz neighborhood, home to the city's gay culture as well as a memorial to the queer people who were persecuted and killed by the Nazi regime.

The city's first Christopher Street Day was held on June 30, 1979, in West Berlin.

Thomas Hoffmann, a member of the CSD Executive Board, thought the 2025 crowd was bigger than in past years.

“We want to stand up for our rights together here,” Hoffmann said.

German news agency dpa reported that a right-wing counter-demonstration featured 30 to 50 protesters.

Six people, including the protest's organizer, were arrested on their way to the demonstration for alleged weapons and explosives violations as well as for displaying anti-constitutional symbols, dpa reported.

People dance as they take part in the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

People attend the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Two women kiss as they take part in the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

People dance as they take part in the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

People dance as they take part in the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

The 47th Berlin Pride, the Christopher Street Day (CSD) demonstration, arrives at the Grosser Stern in Berlin, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Carsten Koall/dpa via AP)

Participants in the 47th Berlin Pride, the Christopher Street Day (CSD) demonstration, gather before the start of the parade, in Berlin, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Casten Koall/dpa va AP)

Participants in the 47th Berlin Pride, the Christopher Street Day (CSD) demonstration, gather before the start of the parade, in Berlin, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Casten Koall/dpa va AP)

Two women kiss as they take part in the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

People dance as they take part in the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

People attend the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Two women kiss as they take part in the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

People dance as they take part in the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

People dance as they take part in the LGBTQ annual pride march in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

The 47th Berlin Pride, the Christopher Street Day (CSD) demonstration, arrives at the Grosser Stern in Berlin, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Carsten Koall/dpa via AP)

Participants in the 47th Berlin Pride, the Christopher Street Day (CSD) demonstration, gather before the start of the parade, in Berlin, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Casten Koall/dpa va AP)

Participants in the 47th Berlin Pride, the Christopher Street Day (CSD) demonstration, gather before the start of the parade, in Berlin, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Casten Koall/dpa va AP)

David Linde, the former chairman of Universal Pictures and CEO of Participant Media, has been named CEO of the Sundance Institute. The nonprofit organization said Thursday that Linde will assume the role on Feb. 17, after this year’s festival concludes.

“I am honored to join Sundance Institute as CEO to steward an organization that is essential to independent artists, the broader creative community, and culture at large,” Linde said in a statement.

His role will include overseeing the Sundance Film Festival’s transition to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027, as well as managing the year-round Sundance Institute programs, including artist labs, grants and fellowships.

A Hollywood veteran, Linde has worked across television and film for decades, cofounding Focus Features and overseeing numerous Oscar nominees and winners in his various roles. During Linde’s time at Participant, which shuttered in 2024, the company produced two best picture winners: “Spotlight” and “Green Book.” He also produced “Arrival.”

Sundance has been operating under an interim CEO, Amanda Kelso, since early 2024 when Joana Vicente stepped down. Vicente had replaced Keri Putnam in 2021. The Institute’s most high-profile event, the annual Sundance Film Festival, is gearing up for its last edition in Park City, Utah which will kick off next week.

Ebs Burnough, board chair of the Sundance Institute, said in a statement that, “David brings a rare combination of industry fluency, social cause management, and deep commitment to artists, positioning the organization to build on our legacy while advancing our mission for the future.”

FILE - David Linde appears at the American Cinematheque Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 18, 2021. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)