Techno-crats Dance Across Berlin
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BERLIN — The booming beat of techno music thundered through the center of Berlin on Saturday as half a million brightly colored, energy-filled young people from across Europe converged on the city for the eighth annual “Love Parade.”
Police estimated the crowd at 500,000 “or a little more,” while organizers said 600,000 people were dancing along the 2 1/2-mile stretch from the city’s main train station to the Brandenburg Gate.
The Love Parade began in 1989 with about 150 people dancing behind a Volkswagen van under the motto “Peace, Happiness and Pancakes.”
It has grown every year to become the world’s biggest gathering for fans of electronic dance music known as techno.
The parade route was packed with people, some of whom climbed lampposts and streets signs despite the grease smeared on them by police to deter such behavior.
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