Prague Pride returns to celebrate LGBTQ+ lives and ask “where my home is”
Prague Pride is a week-long festival that is soon to begin on July 28th. In addition to the pride parade through the city on Saturday 2nd, the festival offers a rich programme of cultural and social events, from film screenings to picnics in the park. Danny Bate spoke to Lenka Hronová, parade production lead and head of production for Prague Pride, about the programme.
How many years has the Prague Pride Festival now been happening?
“So this year marks the fifteenth edition of the Prague Pride Festival. The first Rainbow Parade in Prague took place in 2011, and there were just a few thousand participants. But last year, in 2024, the parade welcomed 60,000 participants. Overall, during the whole week, from Monday to Sunday, we welcomed more than 100,000 attendees.
“It is really amazing to see how the festival is growing every year. We have more than 400 members of the team, with our volunteers, and we have more than 200 events happening during the one week. So it's really amazing how it is now just a big event.”
And the theme for this year is ‘where my home is’. People will recognise that instantly as the Czech national anthem, but what does this mean for the organisers and the participants of Prague Pride?
“The theme “where my home is” reflects both a personal and a political dimension. For many LGBTQ+ people, home is not just a place. It's a sense of safety, acceptance and belonging.
“Unfortunately, due to social prejudices, discrimination and political rhetoric, this sense of home is often denied to them, whether in their families, communities, or countries. The theme also responds to the growing pressure on queer communities in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in countries like Hungary or Slovakia.
“In the year of the parliamentary election in the Czech Republic, we are, as Prague Pride, asking, can this country be a true home for queer people if their basic rights are still restricted? So, despite these challenges, the message is hopeful: queer people belong here, Czechia is our home, and queer history is an essential part of its identity.”
A very meaningful phrase then, as the theme for this festival. You mentioned the 200 events going on. Could you briefly walk us through the programme of events that people can look forward to this year?
“Prague Pride is happening from Monday to Sunday. The main venue is the Pride Village, and then we have the Pride Park and Pride Parade. There are so many of these venues that are happening during the week.
“But what I want to highlight are the music concerts that we have: Aneta Langerová, a really well-known Czech singer, and Jana Uriel Kratochvílová. On Monday, there will be Aiko, who represented the Czech Republic at the Eurovision Song Contest.
“There will also be Pride Youth Voices. These are stories from young queer people, sharing what they have gone through.
“The biggest thing is the parade on Saturday. We are expecting more than 60,000 people. As I said, the Pride Village is happening from Monday to Friday, and then again on Sunday. There will be live podcasts, sports events, creative workshops and community gatherings. There is a venue just for debates, lectures and discussion, which is called Pride House.
“We have our own art exhibition at Pride Gallery, near Wenceslas Square. There will also be Pride Coffee, Pride Cinema, and the venue that we started last year for young people, Pride Youth, is also happening near the Pride Village. There are just so many events, especially for young people, and we are looking forward to it.”
The march is very much the heart or the peak of any Pride. Where does it run from and to?
“It’s going from Wenceslas Square through Na příkopě. Then we are going to Náměstí Republiky, then Old Town Square, up Pařížská Street, near the Faculty of Law, across Čechův Most, and then up the hill to Letna, where the Pride Park is happening until 10 pm.”
All the information about the Prague Pride Festival, including the schedule of events, can be found on the festival website: https://festival.praguepride.com/en/
