The Rainbow Pride parade in the capital Bratislava focused on supporting minorities and diversity – but not everyone was onboard.
The 14th annual Rainbow Pride festival in Bratislava, the largest public LGBT+ event in the Slovakian capital, took place on Saturday.
The rally was staged in front of governmental offices, with the theme said to have been influenced by the recent changes of the conditions for holding demonstrations.
Around 10,000 people are estimated to have taken part.
Elsewhere in Bratislava, conservative activists held a rally promoting what they call ‘traditional family values’.
One of the organisers of that counter-rally dismissed the idea of same-sex marriage, saying children were best raised by a man and a woman.
It wasn’t just the counter-rally which caused problems for the Rainbow Pride event.
The police reportedly received information about the potential blocking of some of the city’s communications by an unspecified group of people who might have been planning a terrorist attack on the rally.
There is a lack of support across Slovakia for the LGBT+ community. In 2022, two gay men were shot dead by a right-wing extremist outside a bar in Bratislava. That prompted thousands to take to the streets, demanding better protection.
ILGA Europe, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association annually ranks 49 European countries on their legal and policy situation for LGBTI people.
Slovakia comes in in 30th place – significantly below the average of Europe.
