PRAGUE PRIDE 2019 FINAL REPORT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, THE PRAGUE CITY HALL FLEW THE RAINBOW FLAG. ↓ ↑ WE MANAGED TO ENLARGE IMPORTANT THE FESTIVAL AUDIENCE BY ATTRACTING ELDERLY LGBT+ MOMENTS PEOPLE, WHOM WE OFFERED A SPECIAL PROGRAM AT THE NEW FESTIVAL VENUE PRIDE LIFE – ZIVOT90. OUR PROGRAM WAS INCLUSIVE ALSO IN RELATION WITH THE MARGINAL GROUPS OF THE QUEER COMMUNITY – NON- BINARY PEOPLE, BISEXUALS, ASEXUAL PEOPLE, THE PANSEXUAL. ↓ ↑ ↑ WE OFFERED THE CZECH AMONG THE FESTIVAL GUESTS AUDIENCE, FOR THE FIRST TIME, WAS THE FIRST TRANSGENDER A POPULAR CONCEPT FROM THE PERSON ELECTED TO U.S. – DRAG QUEENS READING A PARLIAMENT IN EUROPE FAIRY TALES TO CHILDREN. – THE ITALIAN POLITICIAN VLADIMIR LUXURIA. WE REGISTERED 75,000 VISITS DURING THE PRIDE WEEK. WE WERE HINDERED BY THE RAINY WEATHER, ESPECIALLY DURING THE PRIDE PARADE ON SATURDAY. ↓ ↑ ↑ AT THE OPENING CEREMONY ONE THE RAINBOW PARADE RETURNED OF THE SPEAKERS WAS THE EU TO OUR PREFERRED ROUTE, COMMISSIONER FOR JUSTICE, LEAVING VACLAVSKE NAMESTI CONSUMERS AND GENDER VIA NA PRIKOPE STREET. EQUALITY VERA JOUROVA. THE OPENING CONCERT FEATURED THE OLDEST DJ IN THE WORLD – THE 80-YEAR-OLD DJ WIKA, FROM POLAND. ↓ ↑ ↑ WE INVITED TO PRAGUE THE THERE WERE 30,000 PEOPLE ORGANIZERS OF THE BIALYSTOK IN THE PARADE. AT THE LETNA PRIDE IN POLAND, WHERE PRIDE PARK DURING THE PEAK PARTICIPANTS WERE ATTACKED TIME FROM 2 P.M. – 4 P.M. THERE BRUTALLY BY EXTREMISTS. WERE OVER 22,000 IN THE THE POLISH ACTIVISTS WERE ATTENDANCE. RECEIVED BY THE PRAGUE MAYOR ZDENEK HRIB. THE OBSERVATION TOWER ON PETRIN HILL AND THE DANCING HOUSE WERE LIT IN THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW. ↓ ↑ ↑ FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 9 YEARS FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THERE WERE ATTEMPTS TO LETNA, WE INTRODUCED THE DISRUPT THE PRAGUE PRIDE, COMMUNITY ZONE DEDICATED INCLUDING BURNING THE TO THOSE WHO PREFER TALKING, RAINBOW FLAG, THROWING GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER FLARES AND POURING OIL ON – TO DANCING TO THE MUSIC AT THE LETNA STAIRS ON THE DAY THE STAGE. OF THE PARADE. 50 YEARS SINCE THE STONEWALL RIOTS This year people at Pride festivals around the world paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which lead to the creation of the LGBT movement. The events after the police raid at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 moved onto the streets the fight for LGBT rights – the queer people gained a voice and visibility. Because of the Iron Curtain our country moved in a different direction. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Czechoslovakia already in 1962. That being said, Stonewall has an important meaning for us too: it is about openly claiming to be part of the queer community, which is very colorful and diverse. The media campaign for the festival, designed by the 2fresh agency, showed the hands of two women or two men striving to make a contact that doesn’t happen. The headline Together within reach was meant to remind us that even today many gay or lesbian couples prefer not to hold hands in the street. The festival tried to tell the members of our community, but also our allies and the rest of the society, that it’s time to change that. THE FESTIVAL PROGRAM Pride Life The 9th edition of the Prague Pride festival took place 5-11 August. The program In cooperation with the ZIVOT90 organization, we created a new festival location, included 140 events. 56 non-profit groups, companies and individuals helped and focused its program on elderly LGBT+ people. The goal was to give them a safe organize the festival. The events took place at 35 different locations throughout space where they could meet and get to know not only members of the same age the city. group, but also of the younger queer generation. The program included debates, authors’ readings, theater, film screenings, but also an intergenerational brunch Opening concert and a retro party. As usually, the festival was opened by a concert in the Pride Village on Strelecky Pride Voices Island. The main star was Daniela Sea, who plays the transgender character Max in the cult series The L Word, in duet with the Swedish DJ Gunn Lundemo. A new This year the traditional talk show featuring inspiring personalities, an event that has generation of proud LGBTQ* artists was represented by the promoter of genderless been traditionally popular within the festival, was moved to the charming Theater fashion Leopold from Germany and the Czech rising star Renato. The older Royal. Among those who came to talk to the queer community about their lives generation had its own representatives in the 80-year-old Polish DJ Wika and the were: Italy’s trans politician Vladimir Luxuria, the asexual model Yasmin Benoit, Elpida choir accompanied by the Never Sol in the OLD’s COOL project. The host of the transgender stand-up comedian James Jurgensen, the historian Anna Hajkova the event was Adela Elbel. from the Queer Memory Society, the American singer Tom Goss and Alvaro Gonzales from the San Francisco Pride. Pride Village The festival village offered throughout the week various musical performances and dance lessons. There were picnics in the grass, under the trees, but also various sports, manual workshops, readings to the children. Our visitors were able to use the Spirituality Zone of Logos CR and to get information in the tent of the We Are Fair initiative for marriage equality. The Pride Village closed on Sunday with an appetizing street food festival with picnic and music. Pride House The three stories of the back side of the Langhans palace hosted lectures, debates and panel discussions. People could listen to stories about the daily lives of gay people in China, about the situation of the LGBT+ community in Russia, watch a documentary film about a trans woman in Vietnam and then ask her questions in the following Q&A. Among those who contributed to the Pride House program were several Czech non-profits, such as Nevypust dusi, Queer Geography, Trans*parent, Linka bezpeci helpline, Ateists Association, Logos CR, Envirostyl. The Pride House featured Libuse Jarcovjakova’s photo exhibition from the legendary gay T-Club and photos of non-binary people by Parker Hirschmueller. NOVELTIES OF 2019 Anti-hate angels Focusing on the elderly Our Saturday Parade featured anti-hate angels. They had huge white wings, We managed to expand the festival audience into the elderly LGBT+ segment – and their task was to literally ban from sight the opponents of our event, who people who generally spent most of their gay lives in the closet, and many are were yelling abuse against LGBT+ people, and to stand by in case of outright still there. Most of the events for the elderly were hosted by the new festival interruptions. The angels fulfilled their mission on Revolucni street, where a group location Pride Life – ZIVOT90. The festival however included more events for the of aggressive exptremists tried to infiltrate the Parade crowd. Thanks to the quick older generation, for instance discussions 30 Years of LGBT Activism in the Czech actions of the police, which used the help of angels, most of the participants didn’t Republic (at the Academy Conference Center), or Queer Closet – Remembering 50 even notice the incident. Years Since Stonewall (at the Pride House). Festival visibility Niche queer groups During the Prague Pride week, we usually try to make the city as `rainbow-colored` The queer community consists of more than just L+G+B+T. We tried to weave into the as possible. This year we did better than before, especially thanks to the kind fabric of the festival other groups as well. We had an exhibition of photographs of support from the Prague leadership. The city hall building flew the rainbow flag, as non-binary people by Parker Hirschmueller, a picnic for pansexual people, a debate a symbol of the LGBT+ movement. The lamp-posts along the route of the parade about bisexuality, a discussion about asexuality with the British model Yasmin were also decorated with rainbow flags. On day 1 of the festival there was Benoit, a meeting of asexual people within the Community Zone in the Pride Park, or a temporary tram stop on Legii Bridge named Rainbow Stop, and on Saturday a projection of a documentary film about the lives of intersex people. trams on the line no. 23 were decorated with small rainbow flags on their front. On Friday and Saturday, the Petrin observation tower was lit in rainbow colors, and the Stress on travesty and drag Dancing House wore rainbow lights, like in previous years, throughout the week. Drag queen performances have always been a part of the Prague Pride. This year, also thanks to the Stonewall anniversary, we took a historical approach and invited founders of the Czech travesty art – the legendary group Screamers, but also members of the youngest generation of drag, inspired by the reality show Ru Paul’s Drag Race. They were accompanied by the London group Pecs Drag Kings, the Czech drag group Crazy Goddess and American queens from the Queens on the Run show. Introvert program Polls taken after last year’s festival indicated that a lot of participants are less eager to dance and listen to music than to take part in debates and meet like-minded people. That’s why we created the Community Zone in Pride park, which provided eight spots with different `chamber` events – from discussions with interesting guests to slam poetry. Although it rained and the lawn was soaked in water, the Community Zone managed to attract its own audience. RAINBOW PARADE Thanks to the completion of reconstruction works in Vaclavske Namesti, the parade was able to return this year onto its preferred route: it exited Vaclavske Namesti via Na Prikope street, continued into Namesti Republiky, Revolucni street, Rasnovka, Dvorakovo nabrezi, Cechuv bridge, and the stairs to Letna.