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Sofia Pride 2009
The second march for equality and tolerance, called “Rainbow Friendship”, showed to Bulgaria how beautiful, fun and positive such an event can be. More than 300 people marched along Vassil Levski Boulevard holding flags and balloons to celebrate the love, peace and understanding among all people. The view was colourful and the music and the crowd echoed throughout the capital’s center. There were no incidents this time. The pride was officially supported by a dozen of foreign embassies, including those of the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and others, and the Bulgarian political party “Zelenite” (The Greens). Pictures from Sofia Pride 2009
Sofia Pride 2008
The first Bulgarian gay pride was held on June 28 2008 under the motto “Me & My Family”. The date was chosen as a reference to the historic events that took place in NYC’s Stonewall Inn on June 28 1969. Since then, all Bulgarian prides has been scheduled for the last Saturday of June. Because of security measures the march’s route was short. The intense threats from far-right nationalist groups led to a low attendance level. The measures taken were not in vain – the pride was attacked by several hundreds of skinheads and nationalists, who even tossed a Molotov cocktail at the participants. The result was 88 arrests, including that of the leader of the Bulgarian National Union. Despite the problems, the event made history by becoming the first major open and proud stance of the Bulgarian LGBT community. |
