Pride Week opens in Belgrade, march sets off Saturday at 4 p.m. from Manjež Park

Pride Week has opened in Belgrade as part of this year’s Belgrade Pride, held under the slogan “There Is Room for All of Us” and running through Sunday, September 6. The central Pride march sets off on Saturday, September 5, at 4 p.m. from Manjež Park.

As in previous years, Pride Week brings a packed program: exhibitions, theater performances, lectures and panel discussions, sports activities and parties, with the full schedule available on the Belgrade Pride website.

This year marks a quarter of a century since Belgrade’s first Pride in 2001, remembered as the “Bloody Pride,” when hooligans brutally attacked participants. That is why, 25 years on, the historic slogan “There Is Room for All of Us” is returning to the streets.

“If we happened to live in a tolerant, non-violent and, above all, democratic society, the 25th anniversary of Pride would be marked as an event celebrating freedom and equality,” said this year’s Pride godmother, journalist Danica Vučenić.

Throughout the week, organizers will again point to the community’s unmet demands, including a law on same-sex partnerships, stronger protections for transgender people, and consistent prosecution of violence. As noted at the opening, more than 20 cases of violence against LGBT+ people have been recorded this year alone.

Saturday’s march sets off from Manjež, and organizers are inviting all LGBT+ people, allies and fellow citizens to join.

Source: Beta, N1. English adaptation: gay-serbia.com.