A technoparade (taken from the German language word "Technoparade") is a parade of vehicles equipped with strong loudspeakers and amplifiers playing electronic dance music. It resembles a carnival parade in some respects, but the vehicles (called ) are usually less elaborately decorated. Unlike some carnival parades, a technoparade does not share the tradition of bombarding the spectators with sweets. However, the revellers do occasionally throw confetti (usually larger and more sparkly than that in a carnival parade) and spray foam from the vehicles onto the crowd.
Nearly all of the vehicles are converted . In order to power the amplifiers, the trucks are frequently equipped with an additional electrical generator. For safety reasons, horse-drawn floats are never used in technoparades: there would be a danger of horses panicking from the noise and chaos. However, there are occasional human-drawn floats equipped with generators, record players, amplifiers and loudspeakers. Some of the vehicles allow people to ride along, for a fee. For those on the sidelines, or travelling alongside on foot or bicycles, attendance is free.
Official program
The official program of a technoparade is generally not as important as what happens informally. In contrast to a carnival parade, the vehicles are little more than flatbed trucks with sound equipment, rather than elaborately decorated floats. There are usually no
fireworks or other traditional elements of large celebrations. Technoparades are rarely linked to anniversaries of historical events: they usually simply take place in the summer to take advantage of the good weather.
However, in Germany technoparades are usually officially registered as a political demonstration and thus have an appropriate motto. That way techno fans have a constitutional right to dance in the streets, and any objections from the authorities to noise and traffic obstructions are overruled and the cities also have to pay for security and cleaning up the streets afterwards.
Character
Technoparades generally have a carnival atmosphere, where social rules (and some laws, or at least their enforcement) are at least loosened, and sometimes broken outright. An atmosphere of chaos and tolerance prevails as bystanders dance to the shifting sounds of successive vehicles rolling by them: the music blasting from one vehicle blends into that from another, which can mean a sudden change of dance style in the area where the spheres of influence overlap. The music coming from two sound trucks overlaps with approximately equal intensity, and people can dance to either of two competing
. In the technoparade subculture they call this the
Verwirrungsgebiet ("
overlap zone") by analogy to a concept in radio frequency engineering.
The street allows for a type of dancing that would be literally impossible in cramped German , and the breadth of some people's dancing is further exaggerated as they throw their clothes outwards. Some in the crowd generally climb up to any high point that can possibly be scaled, more and more as the event continues. The spirit is usually continued at after-parties in the local nightclubs, sometimes including unofficial after-parties at venues having no official connection to the parade.
Major events
World's largest
-
Street Parade, Zürich around 1,000,000 participants annually as of 2018
-
Love Parade, previously the world's largest with 1.5 million in 1999
Germany
5 big technoparades of the 1990s and early 2000s:
Parades with a political character:
-
Fuckparade, Berlin (since 1997)
-
Krachparade, Munich (since 2014)
-
Zug der Liebe, Berlin (since 2015)
-
Rave The Planet Parade, Berlin (since 2022)
-
Nachttanzdemos (many cities)
Small town or onetime moves:
-
Night Move, Cologne (1994)
-
Future Parade, Brockhagen (1997–2003)
-
Beatparade, Empfingen (since 1998)
-
Numerous others
Austria
Switzerland
-
Street Parade, Zürich (since 1992)
-
Jungle Street Groove/Beat on the Street, Basel (since 1995)
-
Antiparade, Zürich (since 1996)
-
Lake Parade, Geneva (1997–2015; 2017; 2023–)
-
Tanz Dich Frei (Dance yourself free), Bern (2011–2013)
Other
==Gallery==
during the 2006 Techno Parade in Paris, France]]
Similar Events
Similar to technoparades, electronic dance events have also been organized using other moving vehicles such as
and
. In contrast to technoparades which are characterized by free participation on the street, in this case only the passengers on the vessels or inside the trams are part of the event. An example for a boatparade is the
Berlin Beats & Boats event which takes place annually since 2009 and involves up to 14 swimming dancefloors.
A regular
Housetram event has been organized by
Monika Kruse in Munich since 1995.
See also
External links
