The Berlin CDU wants to bring a large queer event to the German capital: In their “Government Program 2026-2031” (PDF), the Union backs Berlin’s bid to host a WorldPride. The program was approved by the state party conference in early June.
“A bid to host World Pride as well as an InterPride General Meeting & World Conference is one we support,” reads the program titled “Berlin Will.” The combination would create “synergistic effects for the business location. This will sustainably strengthen the hotel industry, gastronomy, and retail.”
The inclusion of WorldPride in the government program is a “great achievement for queer visibility and an unequivocal signal to the world: Berlin is and remains the safe harbor of freedom,” said René Powilleit, the state chairman of Lesbians and Gays in the Union (LSU), in a press release on Monday. “A World Pride in our city shows that social diversity and political responsibility go hand in hand. This is about more than a demonstration — it’s about a robust promise to human rights.” With this pledge, the Berlin CDU “shows real stance,” Powilleit praised.
CSD-Verein will sich für WorldPride 2032 bewerben
The WorldCSD is one of the largest international events for the queer community, blending political visibility with significant momentum for queer culture and tourism. If the bid is successful, the WorldPride, typically held every two years, would for the first time take place in Germany, following Amsterdam this year. In 2028, the CSD in Cape Town will be expanded into an international event; for 2030 the application phase is still underway.
The Berlin CSD e.V. announced in early June that it would bid for WorldPride 2032 (TheColu.mn reported). A Berlin bid had, back in March, first been brought into play by the LSU (TheColu.mn reported). Bangkok is aiming for World Pride 2030, and London has also announced a bid for 2032. Berlin had previously bid for WorldCSD 2017 but lost to Madrid.
Sonst wenig Queerpolitik im CDU-Programm
Besides backing WorldPride, queer-policy demands in the 128-page Berlin CDU campaign program are thinly spread. They all appear in the tenth and final chapter, “Berlin wird einig” (Berlin Becomes United).
There is, on one hand, a broad commitment to diversity: “We love Berlin and Berlin loves love,” the capital union explains. “Whether traditional families, blended and separated families, foster families, single parents with their children, or same-sex relationships, they all find a home in Berlin!” On the other hand, the Berlin CDU aims to continue pushing for the constitutional amendment of Article 3 of the Basic Law to include the qualifier “sexual identity.”
A concrete policy demand for Berlin’s city politics concerns the fight against hate violence: “To illuminate the dark figure of queer-hostile crimes, we will push for comprehensive video surveillance in crime-prone areas as well as in public transit, with a retention period of at least 96 hours,” the CDU government program states.
The election to the Berlin House of Representatives is scheduled for September 20. According to a recent poll by the polling firm Civey, the CDU under top candidate Kai Wegner can expect 22 percent of the vote. They are followed by the AfD with 18 percent, the Greens with 17 percent, and The Left with 15 percent. The SPD is at 14 percent in the survey. All other parties fail to clear the five-percent hurdle. (mize)
