The fifth annual Prague Pride Festival took place between the 10th and 16th this month, organized by the Association Prague Pride, which has been operating since 2010. The group’s main endeavor is connecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community with the broader public, with an overall objective of promoting a more tolerant civil society.
“While the LGBT people are not being stoned to death in our country, we are still miles away from gay marriage. We enjoy relative freedom with lesser or greater degrees of bullying: at school, at work, by members of parliament, who have been for the past year ignoring the amendment to the bill on registered partnership,” was the message of Festival Executive Director Kateřina Saparová as the weekly event began.
Throughout the week you could visit the Pride Village, which was based on a local island Střelecký Ostrov, where the organizers regularly held various workshops, discussions and concerts. But not only there; such places were all over Prague. The various clubs, theaters and cultural spaces were involved also. The program was colorful and the was plenty to for festival-goers to choose from.
The festival came to an end at a brisk pace. The top of event was Saturday’s parade through the center of Prague and then the music festival at Letná. This year, Prague Pride was definitely the biggest parade. According the estimates the parade was attended by 35,000 people. The length of the parade was double that of last year’s.
At the head of the procession was Prague Mayor Adriana Krnáčová. And behind her followed decorated cars, each presenting a particular community and a particular interest in a particular group. But all under the same slogan: In our endless diversity, we all have a rainbow inside..
Photos and text by Michaela Škvrňáková
