Thousands of people took to the streets of Berlin on Saturday as revelers marched for LGBT+ rights on Christopher Street Day. The day commemorates riots that broke out in New York in 1969 after police raided a gay bar. It is seen as a turning point for the gay rights movement and has been celebrated in Germany since 1979. This year, many people demonstrated against hate crimes against LGBT+ people which increased by 36 percent in 2020. Ulli Pridal, a board member of Christopher Street Day Berlin, said: “It is very important to highlight that safe places for people in the community have been reduced in the past year and a half since the pandemic started. And that is why we are going with ‘Save our community’ because it is very important to have (these shelters).” A total of 782 crimes targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people were reported last year, about 150 of which involved violence, police data showed.