The German far right could win its own majority in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, where the AfD party is well ahead of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats in opinion polls.
In an attempt to counter the AfD's success, more than 6,000 people gathered in the state's largest city, Magdeburg, to celebrate diversity and an open world under the slogan "democracy festival", reports the public service channel MDR.
Even in Halle, the second-largest city in Saxony-Anhalt, many marched for democracy.
