More than one million visitors from all over Europe invaded the city of Cologne last weekend. The first weekend of July is traditionally one of the busiest in the town. The party starts Friday afternoon with the Summerjam Festival at the Lake Fühlingen in the north of Cologne, this year with the participation of around 50 international groups and artists, such as Barrington Levy, Christopher Martin, Dilated Peoples, Irie Révoltés, Left Boy, Nneka, Richie Campbell, Seeed, Tanya Stephens and Tryo. The Summerjam Festival finishes on Sunday evening.(left:The Winner of Germany’s hardest Casting Show in July 2014 is: Prince Damien)
The second party, the Linus Talentprobe, starts later in the afternoon at the open air facilities of the Tanzbrunnen in the central Rhine Park. This year it started with a public broadcast of the world cup soccer game Germany-France. The Linus Talentprobe is one of Germany’s oldest and hardest casting shows. Since 1971 hundreds of artists presented themselves to the demanding audience. The winner of last Fridays show has been Prince Damien with his outstanding interpretation of “Baby One More Time” (Britney Spears) and “Price Tag” (Jessie J). From his first appearance on scene the spectators supported him with applause and standing ovations. Another big support has been the top-class moderation of anchorman Linus and the high class performance of the live orchestra. The show finishes with an After Show Party at the Tanzbrunnen Theater.

Another important appointment for this Friday evening is since more than 20 years the Cologne AIDS Gala at the Maritim Hotel in the historic center of Cologne. The Cologne AIDS Gala is the glamorous prelude to the Cologne CSD weekend. Each year stars from radio, television and politics stride over the red carpet and show their solidarity for people with HIV and AIDS.
The Cologne CSD weekend “Cologne Pride” offers from Friday until Sunday late night a big variety of parties, concerts, political discussions and a lot of fun. During 3 days the streets in the historic center nearby the world famous cathedral are closed to traffic. Three stages offer entertainment and information. Lots of booths in the streets offer food, candies, gifts, all kind of rummage and, of course, products and information related to gay and lesbian life. On the main stage at the historic Hay Market, after the opening ceremony with Cologne’s Lord Mayor Jürgen Roters, many bands performed their music until Sunday evening. This year’s highlights have been Ben Ivory, Cologne Gay and Lesbian Choir, Glasperlenspiel, Horse McDonald, Onita Boone, Phrasement, Tim David Wellner and Velile. Prince Damien, who performed already at the Cologne Pride in 2013, presented Sunday afternoon his new, witty and furious song “I Want My Money Back” with a fantastic choreography.

The Cologne Pride’s highlight is without any doubt the Pride Parade on Sunday. This year, more than 100 groups and floats attracted the attention of more than 900.000 people watching in the streets this carnival-like hustle and bustle.
After this successful and unforgettable weekend, Cologne is already preparing for the next big event: in mid-July, the “Lights of Cologne” light up the sky in flames between the Hohenzollern Bridge and Zoo Bridge. This impressive fireworks display will be synchronized with music and transforms the view of the Rhine into a colorful sea of banyan lights, waterfalls and hundreds of thousands of sparklers.
Text and picture by Thomas Lischka