The Train of Love will pass through Berlin bringing dancing back to the streets

The organisers see this as a chance to demonstrate solidarity and bring an upbeat feeling to the city after the pandemic

On Saturday, 28 August, the Train of Love (Zug der Liebe) will pass through Berlin with the thumping beats of house and techno music with an expected crowd of 10,000 people. While many refer to the Train of Love as the successor to the ‘Love Parade’, the organisers see the event as a political demonstration. This year, they are going out in support of giving Berlin back to its citizens.

The techno activist demonstration

The Train of Love started out in 2015 as a counter-demonstration against the far-right group PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamification of the Occident). According to Jens Schwan, this defined the Train of Love as political action, rather than a simple proclamation of love.

The biggest Train of Love up to date was in 2018 when reportedly 50,000 people came out to dance, which coincided with the biggest PEGIDA demonstration. The far-right Islamophobic group has lost a lot of its support since then, whereas the Train of Love lives on.

The festival prides itself on the fact that everyone can register to be part of a float in the procession and help modify it - there are no entry fees or other barriers. This year there will be 15 such parade vehicles and the Train’s route will start at Mauerpark, then go along Danziger Strasse towards Landsberger Allee. Finally, it will reach its final destination in front of the Kino International on Karl-Marx Allee.

The motto this year is "We for you". According to the organisers, this is intended to "regale everyone in this city with a feeling of an upswing after the pandemic and to show how diverse Berlin's culture is". The club scene is currently still slowed down by Covid measures and social distancing guidelines will also apply to the demonstration.