Around 10,000 people gathered in Cologne on Sunday for a demonstration in support of the queer community following the Islamist attack at Berlin Pride.
The organisers of Cologne’s own Pride celebrations called for the rally two weeks after the shocking attack in the German capital.
Participants gathered in the Deutz district on the eastern side of the Rhine River and marched across to the city centre, with turnout significantly higher than the 2,000 registered with police in advance.
A dpa reporter observed a long procession of demonstrators making its way along the waterfront, with police securing the event.
“Words of solidarity alone are not enough,” Cologne Pride said in its call to action. “We are calling on the federal government, states and local authorities to take measures to ensure that queer structures and queer life are sustainably protected and strengthened, in order to counter the growing hostility towards queer people in our society.”
On July 25, a 21-year-old drove a car into several people in Berlin’s Tiergarten park during Pride celebrations and allegedly attacked others with a machete. One woman died and 31 people were injured, some of them seriously.