Around 150,000 people have marched for LGBTQ rights at Berlin’s annual Christopher Street Day celebration, celebrating this year’s parade theme “United in Love”.

Klaus Lederer, Berlin’s deputy mayor and a senator for culture and Europe, said in a speech opening the celebrations that Berlin must be a “safe haven” for LGBTQ individuals facing persecution in their home countries.

“For all the countries where being queer is still a punishable offense … Berlin must be a city of freedom,” he said.

German political institutions showed their support for the LGBTQ community.

In a historic first, both the German Bundestag and the chancellery flew rainbow flags to mark the occasion.

Saturday’s parade was the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic that the annual celebration had proceeded without major restrictions.

Last year, around 65,000 people attended the parade amid social distancing rules and a ban on alcohol.

In 2020, the parade was cancelled entirely due to the pandemic.