Around 10,000 people attended Cologne's Pride parade on Sunday. Participants made their way through the city's streets carrying rainbow flags, and were seen singing and dancing despite the rain. 

Attendees had to be vaccinated, recovered or tested for the coronavirus, and wear face masks. The normal route of the parade was also modified to prevent overcrowding in Cologne's narrower streets.

"Even if it's not so sunny, at least you all have shining eyes," said Jens Pielhau, one of the organizers.

Many attendees wore face masks bearing the rainbow flag.

"This symbol is very important to our community," Pielhau said of the rainbow flag. "It shows that despite all the differences, we have a unifying strength," he told the DPA news agency.

Far cry from 1.2 million before the pandemic

Hugo Winkels, a spokesman for Cologne Pride, said some 100 groups had registered for the parade to support the rights of LGBTQ people.

The western city's Pride parade is considered the largest in Germany. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, the Cologne Pride parade attracted 1.2 million people.

Last year's Pride demonstration had been postponed to the beginning of October. Instead of a parade, there was a bicycle demonstration.

The Pride parade is also known in Germany as Christopher Street Day (CSD), referring to the 1969 police raid of Stonewall Inn bar on Christopher Street in New York. The raid prompted riots that launched the gay rights movement.

mvb/dj (dpa, AFP)