ProtestFlügel Leipzig: Rally and presentation of demands to the mayor. Interviews and music in the videos

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On 12 June 2026, ProtestFlügel Leipzig marched through Leipzig for the third time, holding stop-offs at the Sachsenbrücke and the Federal Administrative Court, before reaching the closing concert at the Bach Festival on the Marktplatz. The demands from the cultural and climate movements were handed over to the Lord Mayor on 2 September.

As befits the alliance, this was naturally accompanied by a rally featuring more music than speeches. We were there and spoke to participants as well as the musicians.

Sarah Kaden opens the event. Photo: Thomas Köhler

Right at the start, we spoke to Sarah Kaden from ProtestFlügel.

Sarah, what exactly is taking place here today?

Back in June, we pushed a concert grand piano through the streets of Leipzig, playing it as we went, and presented the demands we’d drawn up together with an alliance of artists and Leipzig-based initiatives. And today we’re handing these demands over to the Lord Mayor.

What are your demands?

The demands are mobility for all – climate-friendly, affordable and fair – expanding and protecting urban green spaces, and creating communal spaces.

The demands can be found in detail on the ProtestFlügel website; they’re also included in the article about the march on 12 June. Sarah’s opening speech was pleasantly brief; the longest part was the briefing on the protest regulations, and afterwards everyone present had the chance to take another look at the list of demands.

Then came the music, starting with a stripped-back performance by molllust, in which Annika and Frank blended classical music with metal. We then asked the pair for a brief introduction to the band and enquired about their motivation for taking part in the event. Following this, the video features an excerpt from one of their songs. We did the same with the other artists.

Thomas Gärtner from “Leipzig pflanzt” during his speech. Photo: Thomas Köhler

Of course, there were further speeches, including one by Thomas Gärtner, who spoke on behalf of “Leipzig pflanzt”. We asked him for a statement afterwards.

Hello Thomas, please introduce yourself briefly.

My name is Thomas Gärtner. I sit on the board of the association Leben im Einklang mit der Natur e.V. and am also involved in both of the association’s projects: the nationwide ‘Omas for Future’ project and the local ‘Leipzig pflanzt’ project.

So what’s the current situation with ‘Leipzig pflanzt’ – what’s been happening?
We plant twice a year, in spring and autumn, of course. And yes, we’ve been doing this since January 2020. As you can see on our website, we’ve now planted over 30,000 trees and around 8,500 shrubs.

The reason you’re here today is actually quite obvious. That’s why I’m not even going to ask you about it. I wish you and your team every success, and we’ll definitely see each other again.
Paul from ufonia on the piano, without the rest of the band, joined by Jeremias on saxophone, were the next act. We asked them separately to give a performance. They played together.

Gaia, Mother Earth, was also back on the line-up for her tour of Germany. As Gaia can’t speak, she let Sarah speak on her behalf. You can see and hear what she has to say to us in the video.

Maxi, Lisa and Arne from Kultur_Trabant e.V. were also present and wanted to hand over their demands to the Lord Mayor and the City Council. We asked them about it.

What exactly is a ‘Kulturtrabant’?
Well, our Kulturtrabant is Panama green. It’s also a Trabant 601 estate. And you can see it here (shows a postcard). We use it for outreach cultural work in various neighbourhoods of Leipzig and the surrounding area. We’re interested in how the Trabi brings people together. And we create culture on the streets.

Why a Trabant of all things?

That’s quite interesting. When you arrive somewhere in the Trabant, you know straight away why. Because people flock round you. Old and young people who’ve driven the Trabant themselves. People who’ve heard of it. And they ask loads of questions. So you don’t actually need to go out of your way to make contact with people. Instead, they come to you because of the Trabant.

Why are you here today?
We’ve become aware of the Protestflügel. And the ‘Protestflügel’ is a different collective. They’ve also gathered demands from the city’s residents, which they’re handing over to the Lord Mayor here today after the council meeting. And as part of our summer programme, we’ve also collected voices and demands from the public. And we’re handing those over to the politicians today as well.

The other two acts were Dannek, who performed on the piano, and Christopher Ball (Cristobal) with his guitar and his new song. Hannes from ‘Leipzig gießt’ also had his say, and finally, at 5.00 pm, Mayor Burkhard Jung stepped out of the town hall to receive the demands from the ProtestFlügel.

The members of the ProtestFlügel with Lord Mayor Jung. Photo: Thomas Köhler

We then asked the Lord Mayor:

What do you make of the demands put forward by the ProtestFlügel, Mr Mayor

? Well, first of all, I think it’s a good initiative that cultural and environmental organisations, associations and initiatives are joining forces to ask: how can we, in cultural terms, simply organise our lives differently, travel differently and show greater consideration for nature and creation? And in that respect, yes, I’m happy to welcome this and hope that many people will, so to speak, be inspired by the responsibility we have for this planet.

How do you think these measures can be implemented given the tight budgetary situation?
Yes, of course that’s the case; we’re under immense financial pressure on the budget and we must try to save and consolidate as far as possible. And yet the task of shaping our future remains. Money can only be spent once, but if we build a road, trees must be planted. If we try to change the way we travel, we must promote local public transport. If we embark on the heating transition towards non-fossil fuel heating, this involves rebuilding roads and public spaces. And in this respect, when it comes to investment and funding, we will have a particular responsibility to implement this sustainability and these sustainable goals.

So can the people of Leipzig count on you to ensure progress on environmental issues?
As far as possible, I intend to continue along this path step by step, and I always hope for the public’s acceptance and support. It is not easy in these times.

Conclusion: It was another good event organised by ProtestFlügel; whether the Lord Mayor can implement some of the demands is questionable, as the city council also has a say in the matter and the financial situation is not straightforward. The alliance of people committed to culture and the climate has certainly sent a strong signal to politicians. The event was also great fun.