Love Parade’s Founder Leads Berlin’s Call to Protect Techno Culture
Berlin’s streets filled with techno as Love Parade founder Dr. Motte leads Rave the Planet, calling for electronic music culture to be recognised as intangible cultural heritage.
A large-scale techno parade returned to the streets of Berlin as organisers behind the historic Love Parade revived its spirit through a new movement calling for official cultural recognition.
The event, titled Rave the Planet, was co-initiated by DJ Dr. Motte, the founder of the original Love Parade, and took place on July 9. Thousands of participants marched from Kurfürstendamm to the Victory Column in Tiergarten Park, transforming the city centre into a moving celebration of electronic music despite cool and rainy weather conditions.
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Authorities estimated that around 20,000 people joined the procession. Police maintained a visible presence with several hundred officers deployed, though the event passed without reported incidents or disruptions.
Beyond music and celebration, the parade carried a clear political and cultural message. Organisers used the platform to advocate for Berlin’s electronic music and club culture to be recognised as intangible cultural heritage, arguing that the scene represents a vital part of the city’s identity. Dr. Motte also voiced support for stronger protections for artists, including proposals such as an unconditional basic income.
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Dr. Motte is widely known for founding the Love Parade in 1989, which began as a small gathering of ravers before growing into one of the world’s largest street festivals, drawing over a million attendees at its peak. The original event ended in Berlin in 2006, and later editions elsewhere in Germany were discontinued following a fatal crowd disaster in 2010.
Rave the Planet positions itself not as a revival of the past, but as a statement about the future — reframing techno not only as nightlife culture, but as a living social movement deserving formal recognition and protection.
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