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Hamburg’s Pride parade, one of Germany’s biggest, got underway on Saturday with tighter security, a week after a fatal extremist attack near the Berlin Pride event. Dozens of trucks moved through the centre of Germany’s second-biggest city, and organisers said they expected about 250,000 people to attend.
The parade was held under the motto, “Queer in solidarity. Take a stand – for a future without fear.” Hamburg’s police chief had said earlier this week that roughly twice as many officers as last year would be deployed for the event.
A late addition to the parade was a truck representing the Berlin Pride event, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day, or CSD. People on that truck were asked to wear dark clothing as a mark of respect for the victims of last week’s attack.
Late on July 25, a driver ploughed a van into people a few hundred metres from the closing party of the Berlin Pride event before attacking others with what appeared to be a machete. A woman was killed and many other people were injured.
The 21-year-old suspect, Abdul Ballout, was killed in a confrontation with police on Sunday. Investigators later found a video in which a person believed to be the suspect claimed responsibility and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Prosecutors said Ballout, who was born in Germany and had Lebanese roots, travelled to Lebanon in 2025 with the aim of going to Syria to join IS, and made contact with several people believed to be members.
As Hamburg’s parade went ahead with a larger police presence, the event combined celebration with a show of solidarity after the deadly attack near Berlin Pride.
With PTI Inputs
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