Technoparade
Encyclopedia
A Technoparade is a parade of vehicles equipped with strong loudspeakers and amplifiers playing techno music. It resembles a carnival parade in some respects, but the vehicles (called lovemobile
s) are usually less elaborately decorated. Also, a technoparade doesn't share the carnival parade 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 truck
s. 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.
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.
s. 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 discotheques, 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 discotheques, sometimes including unofficial after-parties at discotheques having no official connection to the parade.
Lovemobile
A lovemobile is a popular name for a float. These lovemobiles are trucks with flatbed carrying sound equipment, a DJ or other live act, dancers and props, which is used as a central element at technoparades. The setup and decoration of a lovemobile takes place in the days or weeks preceding the event...
s) are usually less elaborately decorated. Also, a technoparade doesn't share the carnival parade tradition of bombarding the spectators with sweets. However, the revellers do occasionally throw confetti
Confetti
Confetti is a multitude of pieces of paper, mylar or metallic material which is usually thrown at parades and celebrations, especially weddings . Confetti is made in a variety of colors, and commercially available confetti is available in imaginative shapes...
(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 truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s. In order to power the amplifiers, the trucks are frequently equipped with an additional electrical generator
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
. 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 usually 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 fireworksFireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
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.
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 rhythmRhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
s. In the technoparade subculture they call this the Verwirrungsgebiet ("overlap zone
Overlap zone
An overlap zone, in radio frequency engineering, is a zone in which the signals from two or more radio stations, transmitting at the same frequency, can be received with comparable intensity...
") by analogy to a concept in radio frequency engineering
Radio frequency engineering
Radio frequency engineering is the analysis and design of circuits at frequencies where transmission lines are comparable to the wavelength. It includes the study of amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, demodulators and antennas. This is relevant to RFID, broadcasting, radar, wireless computer...
.
The street allows for a type of dancing that would be literally impossible in cramped German discotheques, 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 discotheques, sometimes including unofficial after-parties at discotheques having no official connection to the parade.
Problems
Technoparades are not without problems:- They are regarded by some participants as a license to consume illegal drugsRecreational drug useRecreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
. - A few technoparades have been exploited by makers of pornographicPornographyPornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
films. - There is an inherent danger of accidents as people climb on and off moving vehicles.
- Technoparades usually have big crowds and few toilets, especially because the companies that rent out chemical toiletChemical toiletA chemical toilet is a toilet which uses chemicals to deodorize the waste instead of simply storing it in a hole, or piping it away to a sewage treatment plant. Common types include aircraft lavatory, some passenger train toilets and the portable toilets used on construction sites and at large...
s will not happily rent to technoparades; the crowds tend to climb on the roofs of the toilet structures, which are not built to withstand the weight. Some well-constructed toilets do exist, but not enough to serve the entire technoparade.
Major events
World's largest
As of 2011:- 1. Street ParadeStreet ParadeThe Street Parade is the most attended technoparade in Europe, since the end of Love Parade 2010. It takes place in Zurich, Switzerland. Comparable to Berlin's Love Parade, the Street Parade is one of the largest techno parties in the world and the largest annual event in Zurich...
, ZurichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
1,000,000 participants (2005) - 2. Techno Parade, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
500,000 participants (2007)
Germany
- Love ParadeLove ParadeThe Love Parade was a popular electronic dance music festival and parade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held in Germany annually between 1989 and 2003 in Berlin, and then from 2006 to 2010 in the Ruhr region...
, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
/ Ruhr areaRuhrThe Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet... - FuckparadeFuckparadeThe Fuckparade is an annual summer techno demonstration in Berlin. The event began in 1997 as a demonstration against the increasing commercialisation of culture and public life and the misuse of the right of assembly by purely commercial ventures, in particular the Love Parade...
, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... - Karneval der Kulturen, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
- Vision Parade, Bremen
- Nachttanzdemo, Frankfurt am Main
- Generation Move, HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
/ KielKielKiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the... - Reincarnation, HanoverHanoverHanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
Other
- Love Parade, Santiago, ChileSantiago, ChileSantiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
/ Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
/ Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. - FFWD HeinekenHeinekenHeineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
Dance Parade, RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
(NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) - Cityparade, GhentGhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
/Liège/BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
/MonsMonsMons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
/CharleroiCharleroiCharleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
(BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) - Techno Parade, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) - LovEvolution, San Francisco/Oakland (United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) - Elektro Parade, Oporto (PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
)