Berlin Pride attack has not stopped Benjamin from marching in Copenhagen

Three weeks after a terrorist attack at Berlin Pride killed one person and injured several others, Benjamin Ormand will take part in Copenhagen Pride. DR reported that the experience has made him more aware of his surroundings, but has not persuaded him to stay away.

Ormand, an intensive care nurse and volunteer with Lambda, an LGBTQ community on Funen, attended Berlin Pride with his friend Niklas Frandsen. He remembers the event as a joyful day with large numbers of people of different ages and views.

As they moved through the crowd, the two friends discussed the possibility that something violent could happen.

They later visited Tiergarten, a park in Berlin. Two hours afterwards, the attack took place there. Ormand and Frandsen only learned what had happened when friends and family began messaging them to ask whether they were safe.

When they returned to the area on the following Monday, the atmosphere had changed from celebration to mourning. They saw people grieving and bought flowers for themselves and for the communities in Odense with which they are involved.

Ormand said he is not worried about attending the Copenhagen parade, but expects to be more alert than usual.

“I will probably look around a little and see what is happening, and whether there is some kind of escape route if something were to happen,” he said.

The Copenhagen Pride parade will begin at Frederiksberg Town Hall Square at 1pm on Saturday.