According to the police, only 1500 people come instead of 35,000 as hoped

Celebrities will draw attention again on Saturday and remind Berliners to vote. Demonstrating Green Youth, BUND, Grannies Against Right and Friday for Future.

Dominik is looking forward to the concert and hopes for a success.Sabine Gudath

The strings place their bows on their instruments and strike up a gentle melody. A woman in a fluffy purple coat paces back and forth on stage, inviting the audience to join in. Celina Bostics performs her song “Never Again Quiet” this Saturday afternoon at the climate neutral demonstration with concert. With the campaign, the Climate New Start initiative is once again calling for people to vote for a climate-neutral Berlin 2030 in the referendum on Sunday. Being loud and attracting attention – that is the goal of the “Climate Aid” rally.

The organizers are expecting 35,000 people on March 18th Square, and some of the streets around the Brandenburg Gate have been closed since morning. In this way, people from the cultural scene express their support for the referendum: Annette Louisan, Elements of Crime, Beatsteaks and Igor Levit perform in the evening. The speeches will come from sustainability scientist Maja Göpel and climate activist Luisa Neubauer, among others.

“I hope it will get more people to vote,” says Wanda from Prenzlauer Berg. The 21-year-old is committed to the youth organization of the environmental association BUND. She believes that Berlin can manage to become carbon neutral by 2030. “It’s a matter of will,” she says. Her friend Antonia adds: “This is something that just has to work!”

For the past few weeks, members of Klimaneustart have been on the streets tirelessly handing out flyers. Last year they collected over 175,000 signatures to get the referendum going. Now the time has come. On Sunday, Berliners will vote on a law that has already been drafted. This brings forward the Senate’s goal of making Berlin climate neutral by 2045 to 2030 and turns it into a commitment.

29-year-old Dominik from Schöneberg is looking forward to Elements of Crime and Maja Göpel the most. Although he is optimistic, he says, he is concerned about the implementation of the referendum. When he hears that this time a worked out law will come into force, he smiles. “Wonderful,” he says. “Then I can only ask everyone to support it.” Ina Krause from the “grandmas against the right” drives the same concern. The 68-year-old points out that the CDU is a motorists’ party. “I’m afraid they’re not implementing the goals,” she says. Both state that politicians have not taken any measures after the referendum on “Deutsche Wohnen & Co. expropriate”.

About 300 demonstrators are there on time, the boomer generation is less strongly represented. They hold up cardboard signs with inscriptions such as “Forest instead of asphalt” and “Berlin you can do something”. At around 2 p.m., a heavy shower sweeps people off the square. Everyone crowds under the Brandenburg Gate and braces their umbrellas against the gusts that slap the raindrops in their faces.

Luna Afra Evans, spokeswoman for the Green Youth, is especially looking forward to the many people today. “It’s encouraging to see how many different groups are involved in the referendum,” she says and enthusiastically talks about an alliance meeting on Friday. “There’s a lot of energy behind it!” She sees the big opportunity on Sunday in being able to vote directly on a law. Katharina Fischer from the Green Youth is also here because of the atmosphere. 15-year-old Oskar says he’s particularly looking forward to Sunday’s result. The three all believe in success.

A crowd of people has formed at the edge of the demonstration. Two women hand out free t-shirts. “Everything is better in the past,” it says. Below that, the number “2045” is crossed out and “2030 climate-neutral” is printed in a slightly larger size. “Please take a photo with it today and put it on Instagram or TikTok,” calls podcaster and presenter Louisa Dellert to the crowd of young people.

Johanna from Lichtenberg collected fewer signatures, she says, but advertised a lot for the referendum on Instagram. She is also involved in Fridays for Future and is looking forward to Luisa Neubauer’s speech. “The climate movement has made a lot of effort,” she says. “It would be a shame if the climate revolution failed because people were too lazy to vote.”

Instead of the hoped-for 35,000 demonstrators, around 1,500 people attended the climate concert in front of the Brandenburg Gate, according to the police. The organizers reported 8000 people.