Around 45,000 people took part in the Prague Pride parade on Saturday, the culmination of the 15th week-long festival supporting LGBT+ rights. The subsequent event on Letna Plain was attended by about 15,000 people, according to the organisers.
Festival spokeswoman Zuzana Hoskova said the figures, which were based on police estimates, are similar to last year.
“We experienced probably the worst weather in the history of Pride Week and the festival date was moved up a week for organizational reasons, but we still got the same numbers as last year,” said festival director Kamila Frohlichova. “It was confirmed that queer people and their allies still have a reason to participate in events like this because their rights are still insufficient in the Czech Republic.”
She added that the introduction of an entrance fee for the Pride Park at Letna had clearly not deterred visitors from attending.
During the parade, tens of thousands of participants wearing colourful clothes, rainbow accessories and make-up moved through the city centre from the Wenceslas Square to the Letna Plain.
It took about an hour for the entire parade to leave Wenceslas Square. People carried rainbow flags, as well as the flags of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and the EU. Several hundred participants also joined a group drawing attention to the current humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Parents with children and prams also walked in the procession, with drummers at the head. Many participants were dancing, with DJs providing music at several points along the route. The parade took place without cars with internal combustion engines.
The Prague Pride parade took place for the first time in August 2011, when it met with strong protests by conservatives, but in subsequent years the protests have gradually faded. On Na Prikope near Wenceslas Square, several anti-LGBT protesters waited for the parade, but the two groups were separated by police. Several hundred police officers were overseeing the event, but they did not deal with any conflicts, said police spokesman Jan Danek on Saturday.
The whole parade took about two and a half hours.
Speaking to CTK on Saturday, parade participants said they were attending Prague Pride for the atmosphere, because it is fun, they meet nice people, and they want to show their support for the LGBT+ community. For some, participation is a tradition. Some political figures attended to show their support, and representatives of several embassies and companies also attended the parade.
At Letna Plain, Pride Park continued with a programme on six stages, concerts, attractions, and displays from non-profit organizations, including the main concert by Czech singer Aneta Langerova.
“The Prague Pride festival is the main reminder that we are not only a multi-genre festival where people can come to have fun, learn something, and attend music performances, but we are also an educational festival and we are trying to bring the lives of LGBT people closer to people,” said Frohlichova.
