Joe.My.God. LGBT News
Belgrade’s pride parade resumed in 2014 after having been banned for several years after hundreds of neo-Nazis clashed violently with riot police in 2010. Yesterday’s parade was peaceful thanks to the presence of 5000 cops. Balkan Insight reports:
The third Belgrade Pride Parade, which took place under the slogan “Love changes the world”, was held on Sunday with several hundred LGBT rights supporters, alongside Serbian politicians, participating in the march through the centre of the Serbian capital. The group was protected by some 5,000 police officers who had the city centre in lockdown to ensure participants’ safety.
The gay rights supporters marched behind a truck decorated with balloons and blasting music, waving rainbow flags and carrying banners bearing not only the official slogan of the event, but also those in support of refugees, including “Solidarity with refugees” and “No borders no fences”.
Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic, and ‘godmother’ of this year’s Pride Parade, officially opened the event, congratulating all those who gathered for the march, telling those present that she believes it is important for everyone to find a way to overcome fear, referring to the fact that LGBT rights have not become normalized in Serbian society and violence against LGBT people still occurs.
You might enjoy the first clip below by a befuddled bisexual American tourist, who emerged from his hostel to find the streets locked down for the parade.
Belgrade Pride goes off without incident despite fears of extremist attack (PHOTOS) https://t.co/w6HD0suCru pic.twitter.com/lHrL5NGyTD
— MEN 24 (@men24UK) September 18, 2016