Cologne: "... there couldn't be a more welcoming city on earth"

From Passport Magazine:

COLOGNE - For gay visitors, there couldn’t be a more welcoming city on earth—how many other places offer a “pink card,” designed especially for GLBT travelers that provides free public transit and gives discounts everywhere from gay bars to boat tours to fetish shops? Annual gay festivals range from July’s Christopher Street Day to November’s Bear Pride. The city’s famous Carnival with a noticeable gay contingent is usually held in February and is one of the most prominent in Europe. While a metropolis like Berlin might have greater numbers of bars, Cologne is the unofficial “Gay Capital” of Germany. [...]

It will be hard not to know the Gay Games are happening, with a “Gay Games Village” in the heart of town and bridges over the Rhine hung with Gay Games flags. Cultural aspects will include everything from international marching bands and choral groups to a dance competition and the Games’ first cheerleading contest (get those pom poms ready). The International Rainbow Memorial Run will pay tribute to those lost to AIDS, and a GLBT history exhibit will add an educational element. Even the Cologne Zoo is getting in the spirit with a display on gay tendencies in the animal kingdom!

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