Exploding cow is all the rave

A cow was dropped on Berlin on Thursday night . On Friday, 10 preserved human corpses will be participating in the ecstasy-soaked Love Parade. What will they think of next, ask nauseated residents in the world capital of bad taste.

A cow was dropped on Berlin on Thursday night . On Friday, 10 preserved human corpses will be participating in the ecstasy-soaked Love Parade. What will they think of next, ask nauseated residents in the world capital of bad taste.

Streets were being closed in the city's trendy Prenzlauer Berg district before the dead cow's arrival, scheduled to be pushed out of a helicopter 40 metres (130ft) above the ground. Health officials checked it for BSE and had its internal organs removed before the flight, but otherwise raised no objections. The carcass was then filled with fireworks.

Opponents feared the stunt would inspire copycat actions, with people throwing their pets out of their windows. But a last-minute injunction by a 13-year-old animal lover failed when the local court ruled there was no law against throwing meat about, provided it was clean.

The bovine pyrotechnics was intended as the highlight of a show by the Austrian artist Wolfgang Flatz, who was planning to hang naked from a crane.

The spectacle was a foretaste of what lies in store for an estimated 500,000 techno fans converging on Berlin for the world's biggest rave. One of the floats featuring in the Love Parade will be adorned with 10 rubberised human corpses.