Germany's Queer Year

From subversive street demos to glamorous parties, Pride marches to sport tournaments, Germany’s gay calendar is packed like a Drag King’s trousers.

First up it’s Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Berlin. Named after the iconic New York Street on which the Stonewall Riots kick-started the gay Pride movement, this massive party has hit up the German capital every summer since 1979. The massive opening party took place on 18 June this year with plenty of talent and loads of hotties turning up to party as usual. Things came to a decadent dénouement as usual on the 19th June after the parade where the closing night party at The Dice Club turned out to be one of the highlights of Berlin's legendary party scene,
Check-out www.csd-berlin.de for more info.

Forget Independence Day, 4th July is all about Cologne Pride. The main events leading up to the epic street parade are Fantasy Pride in the theme park Phantasialand (19 June) – where you can totally get your freak on, and also WomenPride which features the usual lesbian melange of cultural, sports and social stuff. The big day sees fabulous floats, fierce outfits and a whole load of gays commandeer the picturesque old town. www.csd-cologne.de has more info.

Who doesn’t look good in lederhosen I ask you? See for yourself in Munich on 17 July when hotties hit the streets in the traditional German garb for some serious ass shaking. As well as boys in braces, expect some of the country’s most fabulous trannies and a truck load of lesbians. The CSD party attracts some high-profile DJs and international artists. Who? I hear you ask. Find out at www.csd-muenchen.de

If you’ve been to Munich, done Pride, got the Tshirt, why not celebrate CSD in another equally fabulous German city? Frankfurt’s big gay parade attracts over 100,000 people and the route takes in the best of the city – around Goetheplatz and Roßmarkt (www.guetlich-event.de/csd)

Or how about stylish Stuttgart? Where the crème de la crème of the south-west German scene assemble for a week of pride festivities, including a gala opening show (25 July), a parade (1 August) and some banner-waving political events. Fierce.

In other non-CSD news, the Gay Games in Cologne is a great chance to get sporty, support fit gays and realise it’s about time you started working out. With 34 athletic disciplines in total, the Gay Games Cologne takes over the city for an Olympic Games-style celebration of sport and culture. Games kick off on 31 July and go on until 7 August. www.games-cologne.de

If you didn’t think you had any plans for the summer – you do now! Enjoy!
Visit GayGermany.co.uk - the official gay and lesbian site of the German National Tourist Office Videos are at YouTube.com/MyGayGermany
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