Cologne (dpa/lnw) - North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) will open the Christopher Street Day demonstration in Cologne on Sunday. The organizers and the State Chancellery announced this on Thursday at the request of the German Press Agency. It was the first time in the approximately 30-year history of the Cologne CSD that a prime minister spoke there, said a spokesman for the organizers. At least 800,000 spectators are expected to attend the CSD demonstration, in which tens of thousands of participants march through the city center on foot or with music floats.
In many places, the CSD is reminiscent of events in New York in 1969: At that time, police officers stormed the "Stonewall Inn" bar on Christopher Street and broke up a multi-day uprising by gays, lesbians and transsexuals.
