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Rainbow family numbers in Denmark in huge increase

In 2013, 84 families in Denmark had same-sex parents. By 2018, that number had increased to 659.

Rainbow family numbers in Denmark in huge increase
Copenhagen during Pride week in 2017. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

As this week sees Copenhagen Pride celebrate diversity and equality for LGBT+ people, the number of rainbow families – families with same-sex or LGBT+ parents – is reported to have increased by a factor of just under eight within the last five years, broadcaster DR reports.

The largest increase, in the Capital City (Hovedstaden) administrative region, saw such families increase from 42 in 2013 to 293 on January 1st this year, according to the report.

The total number of families with same-sex parents in Denmark is 659 according to the most recent figures.

Louise Daubenmerkl, a parent in one such family, told the broadcaster she did not see her family as unusual.

“We see ourselves as an ordinary family with the same daily tasks as other families. We work, go to school and have playdates,” Daubenmerkl said, adding that “most people accept us with openness and curiosity”.

Many same-sex couples still experience discrimination, Peder Holk Svendsen, chairperson of LGBT Danmark, said to DR.

“Things are progressing. But there are still many small things you don’t notice if you’re not in a rainbow family yourself,” Svendsen said.

“That could be something like picking up kids from school or attending parents’ evenings where there may be problems or uncertainties amongst staff regarding families. Sometimes the fact that it is ‘Dad and Dad’ and not ‘Mum and Dad’ is not taken into account,” he said.

Daubenmerkl said to DR that she believed continued focus on the subject would see it further given equal footing in society.

“The more focus there is, the more normal it will be. Then you won’t be met with maybe prejudice, but with interest. We are treated very positively most places we go, so that’s great,” she said.

READ ALSO: Copenhagen awarded WorldPride 2021 event

STOCKHOLM

Stockholm Pride is a little different this year: here’s what you need to know 

This week marks the beginning of Pride festivities in the Swedish capital. The tickets sold out immediately, for the partly in-person, partly digital events. 

Pride parade 2019
There won't be a Pride parade like the one in 2019 on the streets of Stockholm this year. Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/TT

You might have noticed rainbow flags popping up on major buildings in Stockholm, and on buses and trams. Sweden has more Pride festivals per capita than any other country and is the largest Pride celebration in the Nordic region, but the Stockholm event is by far the biggest.  

The Pride Parade, which usually attracts around 50,000 participants in a normal year, will be broadcast digitally from Södra Teatern on August 7th on Stockholm Pride’s website and social media. The two-hour broadcast will be led by tenor and debater Rickard Söderberg.

The two major venues of the festival are Pride House, located this year at the Clarion Hotel Stockholm at Skanstull in Södermalm, and Pride Stage, which is at Södra Teatern near Slussen.

“We are super happy with the layout and think it feels good for us as an organisation to slowly return to normal. There are so many who have longed for it,” chairperson of Stockholm Pride, Vix Herjeryd, told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

Tickets are required for all indoor events at Södra Teatern to limit the number of people indoors according to pandemic restrictions. But the entire stage programme will also be streamed on a big screen open air on Mosebacketerassen, which doesn’t require a ticket.  

You can read more about this year’s Pride programme on the Stockholm Pride website (in Swedish). 

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