The Love Parade began in 1989 when a loose procession of approximately 150 people marched down Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm. At the time, the event was registered as a political demonstration. Over the years, the Love Parade developed into a mass commercial event that drew millions of visitors to Berlin each year. This photograph of the 1999 Love Parade shows the procession on Berlin’s Straße des 17. Juni [June 17th Street]. That year, the parade drew a record-breaking 1.5 million visitors. As the crowds grew, so too did the problems: disturbances associated with noise and litter led to conflicts between event organizers and the Berlin Senate. Starting in 2007, the event was held in the Ruhr area. After panic broke out at the 2010 Love Parade in Bochum and 21 people were trampled to death as a result, organizers announced the end of the parade.