Good things come to those who wait. The Loveparade will finally make its long-awaited return to Strasse des 17. Juni, the original parade route in its native Berlin, on July 15th.
At a press conference this Wednesday, well-known founder of the Loveparade, Dr.Motte, announced, "There will be a Loveparade in Berlin, in the heart of Europe!", finally putting to rest any and all remaining doubts about whether the Loveparade would go ahead in 2006.
In addition, Loveparade GmbH, the promoter and business organisation responsible for the parade, explained how it will be realised, adding that it will still be free of charge and that every effort will be made to ensure the character of the original parade is kept. As in the past, the closing event will still take place at the victory column, 'Siegessaeule'.
One radical difference between past parades and the 2006 one is that Loveparade GmbH will no longer demand the floats pay a participation fee. This means all clubs and artists will have the same chance to host a float in the parade irrespective of their financial status. Naturally, this means sponsors will have a stronger presence and appearance in the parade with two floats already allocated to the Loveparade's main sponsor, McFit, a German fitness studio company.
Loveparade GmbH will also play a prominent role in the design of each of the participating floats. It's not yet clear whether the company will design the floats independent of the clubs and artists, or work in cooperation with each of them.
The Loveparade has been recognised in the past for bringing club promoters and dance music media from all over the world and hopes that ultimately the floats will represent the full range of international club culture and electronic music.
Those wishing to participate in the parade can send in their float concept and audio material to Loveparade GmbH, which will set up a panel to decide the final parade participants.
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