After Berlin attack: large CSD demo in Hamburg - survey: more insecurity

One week after the terror attack near the Christopher-Street-Day celebrations in Berlin, tens of thousands of people in Hamburg demonstrated for sexual and gender diversity and celebrated the queer community. The parade, under the slogan "Solidarity queer. Showing our stance – for a future without fear!", featured a procession of 60 trucks carrying stages from companies, associations, parties, and the evangelical church.

Around 300,000 people were on the streets, according to police and organizers. Last year, about 260,000 people participated. Prominent drag queen Olivia Jones and several politicians from the SPD and Greens, including SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch, were among the attendees. SPD parliamentary group leader Miersch expressed a desire to see Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) attend a Christopher Street Day.

"It would be a very good sign if the chancellor came to a CSD," Miersch told the Funke media group. "I think it's important that we as political leaders set an example in the current situation." A survey conducted by the opinion research institute Civey showed that the feeling of security among the population had decreased since the weekend following the attack in Berlin.

38 percent of respondents reported a clear or somewhat reduced sense of security, while 54 percent felt their personal security had remained unchanged. Only 7 percent felt more secure. The Hamburg police revised their security concept, deploying twice as many officers as at last year's demonstration. In Amsterdam, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten encouraged young LGBTIQ individuals to openly declare their identities during the colorful canal parade.

He emphasized that coming out is not easy, but once one takes that step, things only get better, according to the ANP news agency. Jetten is the youngest government chief in the Netherlands and the first openly gay leader. In Berlin, the Islamist attacker Abdul B. killed one woman and injured 31 people last Saturday with a car and a machete.

The 21-year-old, who initially fled, was apprehended and shot by police as he attacked them. Christopher Street Day is celebrated worldwide, tracing its roots to events in June 1969 in New York following a police raid at the Stonewall Inn. The main scene of street battles was Christopher Street in the Greenwich Village artists' quarter of Manhattan.