Love Parade
Techno’s great street parade, from 150 ravers on the Kurfürstendamm in 1989 to a million-and-a-half under the Siegessäule and the Ruhr years that followed. Dr. Motte’s "political demonstration for peace, joy and pancakes" became the largest celebration of electronic music on Earth — its floats, its mottos, its crowds and its sound — until the 2010 Duisburg tragedy ended it. Told thematically, and carried on by Rave the Planet.
A chronological documentary of 670 moments on Loreline.
last updated 2026-07-22
Eras
- The Mottos & the Message — Every year carried a motto — "We Are One Family", "Music Is The Key", "One World One Loveparade", "Access Peace". The utopian idealism of a generation that believed dancing together could change the world.
- The Birth of a Demonstration — Berlin, July 1989: Dr. Motte and Danielle de Picciotto lead 150 people down the Kurfürstendamm behind one truck, under the motto Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen — peace, joy, pancakes.
- A Million Under the Siegessäule — The explosion. Through the 1990s the parade outgrows the Kudamm and moves to the Straße des 17. Juni around the Victory Column, peaking at 1.5 million in 1999.
- The Floats & the Sound — The Wagen — the decorated trucks, each a rolling sound system for a club, a label or a sound.
- The Ravers — The people who made it: the looks, the body paint, the whistles and the smiles.
- The Ruhr Years — In 2006 the rights are sold and the parade leaves Berlin for the Ruhrgebiet — Essen 2007, Dortmund 2008, Duisburg 2010.
- Remembrance — Duisburg 2010 — On 24 July 2010, a crowd crush on the tunnel ramp into the Duisburg site killed 21 people and injured more than 650. The Love Parade was never held again.
- Legacy & Rave the Planet — The parade reshaped techno and street culture worldwide. In 2022 Dr. Motte brought the techno-demonstration back to Berlin as Rave the Planet.
…and 670 more moments. Full text archive: /loreline-text/love-parade.md
