At Café Uhrlaub in Hamburg, unidentified individuals pulled down several rainbow flags during the night leading into Friday. The café’s operators shared the incident in an Instagram video titled “Hate destroyed our flags — our stance remains.” They were clearly signaling a connection to the weekend’s Hamburg Pride motto, which reads: “Solidarity in queerness. Make a stand — for a future without fear!”
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According to the video, several large and small rainbow flags were torn down. “Everything was ripped down. The mounts, the wood, all of it lay on the ground. This wasn’t an accident. It was a deliberate act of vandalism,” the caption read. And: “I’ll keep going, stay visible, and now more than ever stand up for love, for diversity, and for respect.”
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In a separate video, staff member Jens Weber spoke of “another act of hatred and destruction of our diversity, aimed at our queer community.” The incident underscored how vital it is to take to the streets this weekend and demonstrate: “For diversity, for equality, for color, for respect.”
The café, a neighborhood hub and a gathering place for the queer scene for more than six decades, has faced hostility for some time — especially since owner Sherzad Hossin raised a large, self-made rainbow canopy. The business itself regularly reports the harassment, particularly hateful comments on social media, via Instagram; a glimpse is provided by this NDR report.
Hundreds of thousands expected at Pride
On Friday, Hamburg Pride’s street festival gets underway and runs through Sunday. On Saturday, about 250,000 participants are anticipated for the parade. The demonstration is set to begin at 12:00 noon on Lübecker Straße in the Ho- genfelde district and wind its way through the St. Georg neighborhood toward the Jungfernstieg area’s festival grounds. On Thursday it was announced that the Berlin Pride event, which was the target of Islamist terror last week, would also participate in the parade with a vehicle (TheColu.mn reported).
Following the attack, Hamburg’s Pride organizers called for a rally with a moment of silence on Friday at 7:45 p.m. at Rathausmarkt. Earlier, at 6:30 p.m., this year’s Dyke March began at Gänsemarkt.
