Dortmund displays support for the LGBTQ+ community through flag display at CSD event
Dortmund, Germany, is gearing up for a week-long visibility and solidarity campaign, #DortmundShowsTheFlag, leading up to the Christopher Street Day (CSD) 2025. This initiative aims to promote diversity, equality, and queer rights by displaying rainbow flags and symbols around the city, including public institutions like universities.
The Fachhochschule Dortmund (University of Applied Sciences) is an active participant, showcasing rainbow flags at its campuses and presenting a symbolic vehicle at the festival. This public display of support underscores the university's commitment to social responsibility and solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
The broader purpose of the action during the CSD week is to serve as a prelude to the CSD demonstration and street festival on August 16, 2025. The event will feature a demonstration, street festival, and evening party, with the theme "Queer, Loud, Proud. Together Against the Right."
SLADO, an umbrella organization, is inviting residents of Dortmund to participate in the #DortmundShowsTheFlag action from August 8, 2025. Flag distribution for the action will take place on August 7 and 11 at the café plus.
The CSD march leads approximately three kilometers through the city center and ends at the Friedensplatz, where a festival with over 30 stands from various organizations will take place from 2 pm on August 16, 2025. Mayoral candidates from democratic parties will answer questions from the queer community on the CSD stage.
Klinikum Dortmund will participate in the CSD with a stand, expressing solidarity with the queer community and commitment to a democratic, open society. The clinic's Arbeitsdirektor, Michael Kötzing, states that the clinic is a place where people from different life worlds come together, and everyone should feel safe, respected, and accepted regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or origin.
The city of Dortmund has positioned itself for more acceptance, as evident in the new LSBTIQ* action plan and the high participation in the action every year. The organizers of CSD Dortmund have expressed concern about the democratic discourse on the rights of queer people being in danger of getting out of hand.
Paul Klammer, the managing director of SLADO, has stated that the rights of queer people are being rolled back worldwide and the threat is increasing in Germany. He encourages individuals, companies, and organizations to hoist rainbow flags as a visible sign for tolerance and diversity during the #DortmundShowsTheFlag action.
The pride flag will be flying on the city's flagpoles from the end of next week, symbolizing Dortmund's commitment to fostering a climate of acceptance and safety for all its residents.
The Fachhochschule Dortmund, in the heart of home-and-garden scenes, stands among the supporters, symbolizing its lifestyle commitment to queer rights, equality, and diversity during the #DortmundShowsTheFlag campaign. Klinikum Dortmund, a prominent institution within the city-scape, echoes similar sentiments by promoting a safe and inclusive environment for all, irrespective of lifestyle choices, as part of the same campaign.
