Berlin, August 16th, 2026 (The Berlin Spectator) – Berlin’s techno community returned to the streets on Saturday, as the “Rave The Planet” parade wound through the Tiergarten district. This year’s motto was “Imagine Love.” Organizers said the march was meant to send a message of peace, solidarity and the protection of Berlin’s electronic music culture. German-language media reported, including the RBB.
Before the parade set off, thousands of participants observed a minute of silence for the victims of the suspected Islamist terror attack that struck the edge of Christopher Street Day (CSD) three weeks earlier. Dr. Motte, the co-founder of the nonprofit organization behind the event, urged participants at the opening rally to keep love at the center of the day. A representative of Berlin’s CSD association told the crowd it was time to “be brave” and “show where we stand,” adding, “now more than ever.”
The route ran along the Straße des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column, passing close to the site of the July 25th attack, in which a woman was killed and at least 31 people were injured, some severely.
“Largely Trouble-Free”
Police estimated by evening that the crowd numbered in the tens of thousands, a figure they said was based partly on aerial observation from helicopters. Timm Zeiss, the managing director of Rave The Planet, offered a far higher estimate to public broadcaster RBB, putting turnout at well over 200,000.
Authorities described the event as largely trouble-free. A police spokesperson said the security plan had held up, with only a small number of offenses reported, all of which were addressed immediately. Berlin’s fire department likewise called the situation manageable, reporting just 14 medical transports by late evening — a low number, officials noted, for a large-scale event held amid intense heat.
With temperatures as high as 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit), organizers had made extensive preparations for medical care along the route. Police deployed a water cannon to spray a cooling mist over the crowd, while organizers set up free drinking-water stations at several points and rest areas for cooling off inside the Tiergarten park.
Heavy Security
Security was heavy throughout the day. Around 1,500 police officers, reinforced by colleagues from Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, accompanied the demonstration, supported by a police helicopter and drones. A layered security concept including vehicle barricades and, in places, heavy mobile anti-terror bollards — some left in place in the Tiergarten since the CSD attack — was used to protect sensitive points along the route.
A second, smaller demonstration took place in parallel. The “Fuckparade,” which drew roughly 3,000 participants according to police, moved through Berlin-Mitte from Albrechtstraße/Reinhardstraße to Leipziger Platz, causing temporary traffic disruptions. Organizer Martin Kliehm told RBB’s Abendschau that the event had long since distanced itself from the Loveparade tradition, framing it instead as a protest against gentrification, the commercialization of subcultures and the closure of Berlin clubs.
Saturday’s parade was the fifth edition of Rave The Planet, an event through which Matthias Roeingh — known widely as Dr. Motte — has said he wants to carry forward the legacy of the original Loveparade, which he and his team founded in the late 1980s as a political demonstration.
