New documentary traces the history of Berlin's Love Parade, the electronic music event

A new documentary is tracing the history of Berlin's Love Parade and the street event it inspired, Rave The Planet. Titled Love Is Stronger: From Love Parade to Rave The Planet, the film premiered on German streaming platform ARD on July 31 and includes previously unreleased footage of the original parade.

Love Parade ran in Berlin from 1989 to 2003, then once more in 2006, and became one of the most attended electronic music events in history, drawing roughly 1.5 million people in 1999. The event later spread to other German cities before it was abandoned following a crowd crush at its 2010 Duisburg edition that killed 21 people.

The film is told through the story of Ellen Dosch-Roeingh and Dr. Motte, the pair behind the attempt to revive the parade spirit as Rave The Planet, which held its first edition in 2022. That revival was not without controversy: Dr. Motte was filmed at the inaugural event holding a symbol associated with a German COVID conspiracy movement, though he denied any connection, saying he had "no idea how the sticker had gotten onto his parade float."

The documentary's release lands close to the fifth edition of Rave The Planet, set for August 15 under the theme 'IMAGINE LOVE,' and marks nearly 20 years since the final Love Parade took place in Berlin.

No word yet on whether Love Is Stronger will get wider distribution beyond ARD's German streaming platform, and the film's producers have not said whether further screenings are planned outside the country.