As with all recent G8 summits, the event drew large protests, part of the alter-globalization movement (a term not generally used by its supporters).
The protest was very effective: the entrance to the summit was blocked for the entire three summit days, and world leaders had to be flown in by helicopters.
On 29 December 2006, Greenpeace activists tried to break in with a boat through the beach, at the same day anonymous protesters splattered the Kempinski hotel with red and black paintbomb.

For the 33rd G8 summit, the local police expected about 100,000 protesters from all parts of Germany and other countries.
Preparations were nervous on both sides: 16,000 policemen and over 1,000 soldiers were deployed to protect the interests of the G8 heads of state and government, a 12 kilometer-long steel fence was built around Heiligendamm for the price of €12.4 million (approx.
$16.6 million), and ATTAC Germany chartered three trains to get as many discontented citizens as possible from the farther parts of Germany and nearby countries to the year's biggest unified demonstration against G8, along with numerous buses organized by various groups and political parties.
The main demonstration took place 2 June 2007 in the nearby city of Rostock and was the starting event for a week of protests and blockades.
Organizers spoke of up to 80,000 participants (10.000 Black Bloc), while police put the figure at an estimated 25,000.
Towards the end of the 2 June protest, violent clashes occurred between protesters and the police, essentially limited to a small area at the harbor.
Initially, these drew wide media overstatement, with initial reports claiming nearly 1000 people injured (433 German police officers, 30–33 of them requiring hospitalisation, and 520 protesters, 20 requiring hospitalisation).
Later, these figures were disputed, and the number of police requiring hospitalization was corrected to 2.
According to police estimates, 2,000 autonomists led the riots, setting fire to a total of 3 cars and setting up makeshift barricades; many peaceful protesters fled the action and ensuing police response in panic.
Over 1,000 protesters were detained, and nine of them were tried and condemned during the summit.
Hundreds were expelled.
According to the European Democratic Lawyers NGO:
The evidence collected in this manner was absolutely inconsistent and as previously noted everybody detained was released after brief periods of time.
In fact it all amounts to an illegal system of mass-indexing and psychological terrorism.
The police were aware that the judicial authority would not have confirmed these arrests but proceeded equally with a different objective.
The aim was not to arrest presumed offenders but the indexing of a great number of demonstrators, the psychological intimidation of the protesters and the creation of false records to be used in other occasions.

A protest also occurred on 2 June 2007 on the river bank opposite the Houses of Parliament in London, principally a reminder of the G8's previous (and, as the protestors saw them, unfulfilled) promises on debt relief, entitled "G8 – The World Can't Wait" and "Wake Up To Poverty".
It was a static protest, with small marches converging on in from Lambeth Park and Methodist Central Hall, on a route starting at the foot of Victoria Tower, along the riverbank of Victoria Tower Gardens, the north side of Lambeth Bridge, and the southern riverbank opposite Parliament as far as (but not including) Westminster Bridge.
This principally involved the protesters setting off alarm clocks at 2 pm as a "wakeup call" to the G8, and passed without incident.
As with all recent G8 summits, the event drew large protests, part of the alter-globalization movement (a term not generally used by its supporters). The protest was very effective: the entrance to the summit was blocked for the entire three summit days, and world leaders had to be flown in by helicopters. On 29 December 2006, Greenpeace activists tried to break in with a boat through the beach, at the same day anonymous protesters splattered the Kempinski hotel with red and black paintbomb.
For the 33rd G8 summit, the local police expected about 100,000 protesters from all parts of Germany and other countries. Preparations were nervous on both sides: 16,000 policemen and over 1,000 soldiers were deployed to protect the interests of the G8 heads of state and government, a 12 kilometer-long steel fence was built around Heiligendamm for the price of €12.4 million (approx. $16.6 million), and ATTAC Germany chartered three trains to get as many discontented citizens as possible from the farther parts of Germany and nearby countries to the year's biggest unified demonstration against G8, along with numerous buses organized by various groups and political parties. The main demonstration took place 2 June 2007 in the nearby city of Rostock and was the starting event for a week of protests and blockades. Organizers spoke of up to 80,000 participants (10.000 Black Bloc), while police put the figure at an estimated 25,000. Towards the end of the 2 June protest, violent clashes occurred between protesters and the police, essentially limited to a small area at the harbor. Initially, these drew wide media overstatement, with initial reports claiming nearly 1000 people injured (433 German police officers, 30–33 of them requiring hospitalisation, and 520 protesters, 20 requiring hospitalisation). Later, these figures were disputed, and the number of police requiring hospitalization was corrected to 2. According to police estimates, 2,000 autonomists led the riots, setting fire to a total of 3 cars and setting up makeshift barricades; many peaceful protesters fled the action and ensuing police response in panic. Over 1,000 protesters were detained, and nine of them were tried and condemned during the summit. Hundreds were expelled. According to the European Democratic Lawyers NGO:
The evidence collected in this manner was absolutely inconsistent and as previously noted everybody detained was released after brief periods of time. In fact it all amounts to an illegal system of mass-indexing and psychological terrorism. The police were aware that the judicial authority would not have confirmed these arrests but proceeded equally with a different objective. The aim was not to arrest presumed offenders but the indexing of a great number of demonstrators, the psychological intimidation of the protesters and the creation of false records to be used in other occasions.
A protest also occurred on 2 June 2007 on the river bank opposite the Houses of Parliament in London, principally a reminder of the G8's previous (and, as the protestors saw them, unfulfilled) promises on debt relief, entitled "G8 – The World Can't Wait" and "Wake Up To Poverty". It was a static protest, with small marches converging on in from Lambeth Park and Methodist Central Hall, on a route starting at the foot of Victoria Tower, along the riverbank of Victoria Tower Gardens, the north side of Lambeth Bridge, and the southern riverbank opposite Parliament as far as (but not including) Westminster Bridge. This principally involved the protesters setting off alarm clocks at 2 pm as a "wakeup call" to the G8, and passed without incident.
33rd G8 summit