Photos from Berlin’s techno street party, Rave The Planet

This story originally ran on i-D Germany.

A little over a week ago, the streets of Berlin played host to a giant rave for an estimated 200,000 people. Attracting around ten times more than originally signed up to attend, the demonstration called for the protection of nightlife venues along with a number of other demands. The event was organised by Rave The Planet, a local non-profit organisation made up of artists, party people and music industry professionals led by German electronic music pioneer, Dr Motte.

“Our vision is for techno to be officially recognised as a cultural form,” their website states. “Berlin’s techno culture, with its special features and characteristics should be protected by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.” If considered an appropriate addition to the list, techno would sit alongside Jamaica’s reggae music, Spain’s flamenco dance and Japan‘s Kabuki theatre.

Their hope is that with this recognition, clubs and other venues will be saved from closure and cultural creators will be supported, allowing Berlin’s nightlife to be preserved and developed further. Something of a precursor to the Pride parade that took over the German capital this past weekend, the event saw a caravan of 18 sound systems crawl through the city centre until they reached their destination, where attendees danced around the Tiergarten’s Victory Column in the rain.

As you might expect with such a huge crowd, the euphoria was palpable. Photographer Spyros Rennt captured the mood for us.