BERLIN (AP) — Haidar Darwish, a Syrian belly dancer and artist, took the stage at Berlin’s Museum Island wearing a flamboyant hoop skirt and red fez. He asked the audience for a moment of silence and then said the show must go on — despite a fatal attack on the city’s Pride celebrations that has plunged the LGBTQ+ community into mourning.“Yesterday there was an attack and a hate crime on our community in Berlin during the Pride Parade,” he told the crowd Sunday night, struggling to keep his emotions in check.“It’s heavy on our community but we are pushing through, and we are here specifically today, myself and my artists, to show up and be visible,” Darwish said.
Haidar Darwish, a Syrian belly dancer with the Berlin-based LGBTQ collective Queens Against Borders, performs during an open-air show in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Saturday night’s van ramming and stabbing near Berlin’s Pride festival that left one person dead and almost 30 wounded was an extremist terror attack, authorities said.The suspect was killed by police Sunday evening. Authorities said Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German-born citizen with Lebanese roots, apparently ran toward officers with a sharp instrument and police fired at least one shot.
