A look back at the CSD year 2023

Once again this year, millions of people visited CSD events all over Germany. Now that the Pride season is about to end, it's time to take a little look back. What was good? What was bad? It is already certain that in 2023 there will be more Pride events in Germany than ever before. And one or two visitor records were also broken.

Unfortunately, there were also repeated attacks against queers in this context. Nevertheless, many responsible persons were satisfied with the general overall situation at many events. The mass of visitors - no matter if they directly belong to the community or "only" feel connected to it, showed once again that there is a lot of interest in standing up for the scene and showing visibility. A great message in a time when so many people (worldwide) still have to fight for their rights every day.

How many assaults were recorded during CSDs 2023?

This question cannot be answered exactly... among other things, because there are definitely queers who refrain from pressing charges. Generally speaking (of course there are always exceptions), especially the smaller CSDs and also the Berlin CSD were largely peaceful. In the capital, for example, slightly more than 80 criminal offenses were reported. If you compare this number with the mass of visitors, you quickly realize why the police paint a rather positive picture. (Every attack is one too many, of course).

At the same time, however, many attacks on people were recorded, for example during the framework program. A sad development, which among other things also makes many people from politics sit up and take notice.

And another question is worrying many of those responsible: Is it because of the increasing number of events that there are also more and more attacks? It will probably never be possible to answer this question conclusively.

CSDs in rural areas particularly often become targets of attack

Some responsible persons emphasize in this context that especially the CSDs in the countryside in the smaller cities have to fight particularly often with hostility. Here in particular, however, it is still important to carry out educational work.

Another problem: In rural areas, there are no (or only few) local offers of help and support for queer people. Accordingly, those affected are often dependent on counseling and exchange via the Internet.

Accordingly, it is self-explanatory why many people who live in the countryside not only celebrate CSDs in the larger cities, but also move here at some point to be "one of many" and not, for example, "the one, transgender person" from the neighboring town. Perhaps because of this, many of the larger CSDs in 2023 managed to set attendance records. Cologne even cracked the million mark. By comparison, an average CSD in the country has about 3,000 people.

Also in 2023, many "official bodies" were present

Whether in the countryside or in the city: For some time now, a very special trend has been emerging with regard to the participants at CSDs. In the meantime, the police, fire department and various sports clubs are often part of the party when it comes to showing presence and standing up for the community.

This is a development that is encouraging - especially due to the fact that the queer community and the police faced each other with many prejudices for a long time, also in Germany.

In the meantime, however, much has changed. Nowadays, it is particularly important to many people in charge that police officers are able to provide optimal support for queer people who, for example, file a complaint of assault.

CSDs for 2024 already being planned

Anyone who likes to plan their event visits a little further in advance will be pleased to hear that many of those responsible are already working on planning for the coming year. And even if many mottos have not yet been determined or published, one thing is clear: 2024 will be big again. Whether it will be possible to break the previous year's attendance record remains to be seen.

However, it is already clear that both the small and large CSDs will succeed in increasing the visibility of the community.