2008 Lovesexy Love Parade

The Lovesexy Love Parade will be held in Valletta on July 27. For the very first time, our capital will allow access to all party lovers from all over Europe and their capitals to enjoy "The highway to love" and its finishing point in front of the Department of Trade (St James ditch, right opposite The Excelsior Hotel).

The Love Parade is a popular festival and parade that originated in 1989 in Berlin, Germany, and has now spread throughout the world. Past Love Parades have taken place in Tel Aviv, Mexico City, Acapulco, Vienna, among other countries.

This event inspired the 1998 Dance classic Meet Her At The Love Parade by Da Hool and is the subject of the Madonna song Dear Jessie.

"This is an absolute first in the history of Dance Music in Malta that Valletta will be used as a full on dancemusic and cultural event," organiser Jason Jones said.

Leading up to the parade, the organisers will be kicking off the weekend warm-up by incorporating all clubs in the area to promote and play their best music for you with guest appearances by top deejays.

This will happen between July 20 and 27, so keep a lookout for your favourite deejay and head on down and support the local club scene.

Choose your favourite DJ and try to get a ticket to ride with him on his own truck of his own hometown, while avoiding drinking and driving. The event is free if you arrive before 6 p.m., and permit is till 1 a.m.

Love Parade Info

The Love Parade has its roots in the spirit of a changing Europe. In 1989, it was first celebrated four months before the demolition of the Berlin Wall.

It was started by the fresh Berlin Undergroundunder the initiative of Matthias Roeingh aka "Dr Motte".

It was held as a political demonstration for peace and international understanding through music.

Until 1996, the parade was held on the famous Berlin Kurfürstendamm. And not only the Kurfürstendamm was overcrowded but the streets and even railway tracks near the Ku'damm, too were choc-a-block!

Therefore, the parade moved to the Straße des 17. Juni which is near the Tiergarten Park in the centre of Berlin by the Brandenburg Gate and provided plenty of space.

The centre of the parade is the Siegessäule in the middle of the park, and the golden angel atop the column has become a symbol of the parade.

Many people from Germany, Poland, and other countries, even Malta, travel to Berlin to take part in the Parade - over a million attended in the years 1997 through 2000 and 800,000 in 2001.

Maltese deejays had also performed during one of the Love Parade's held in Berlin. Attendance at the 2001 festival was significantly lower because the date of the parade was changed with little advance notice. 2002 and 2003 also saw lower figures, and in 2004 and 2005 the parade was cancelled due to funding difficulties. 2004 did however host a scaled-down version which served more as a mini-protest, and was given a new title, Love Weekend. Dozens of clubs promoted the weekend-long event all over the city, with various clubs staying open for three days straight without closing. In 2006, the parade made a comeback with the help of German exercise studio McFit. The parade saw its highest attendance in over nine years.

The music played at the events is predominantly electronic dance music: in this case mainly trance, house, techno, and Schranz music. Attempts to introduce other music styles, such as hip hop, have failed. Hardcore and Gabber music were part of the parade in the early years, but were later removed.

Love Parade is a place where some exhibit and enjoy other people's exhibitionist tendencies. Some attendees enjoy carrying around toys or wearing unique face masks. Often the crowd is imaginative in terms of clothing (or lack thereof) and appearance.

One famous picture from the Love Parade is people sitting and dancing on streetlamps, trees, commercial signs, telephone booths, which gave the event's nickname "the greatest amateur circus on earth".

The police of Berlin are usually quite tolerant when it comes to people enjoying themselves.

In 2000, in the UK also, a Love Parade was held in Roundhay Park, Leeds, sponsored by BBC Radio 1.

Events such as the Love Parade have boosted tourism in most countries, especially in Germany.

The biggest dance event in Malta (Lovesexy Live) peaked in 2001, when an estimated 25,000 ravers flocked onto the grass of Flower Power for one great celebration of love and hedonism. It was a fitting end to a decade which saw dance music explode from the underground and dominate airwaves and dancefloors alike for 10 heady years.

As the millennium ushered in a new era, Lovesexy moved to a smaller more natural destination known as Paradise Bay.

The 2008 Lovesexy Loveparade has officially been launched. The event will commence at 5 p.m. in Valletta on July 27.