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LESBIAN

Oslo Pride cancels street festival over coronavirus fears

Oslo Pride has cancelled this year's street parade, announcing plans to instead celebrate the city's gay, lesbian and transgender people with a virtual festival.

Oslo Pride cancels street festival over coronavirus fears
The parade normally attracts 450,000 people. Photo: Martin Fjellanger/Oslo Pride
Fredrik Dreyer, Chairman of Oslo Pride, said that in the current “frightening and unreal” situation, it was impossible to go ahead with the physical festival which had been due to take place between June 19 and June 28. 
 
“It is our absolute last resort and we have turned over every stone in the hunt for a possible solution, including a postponement or a change in date,” Dreyer said in a press release
 
“It would not be responsible for us to hold the physical events during Oslo Pride given the dangers posed in terms of spreading infection.
 
“Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean there will be no Pride – there will! We are far more than just a festival – and you’ll see that this year too.” 
 
 
The decision to cancel a parade in mid-June will raise further questions over the government's delay in taking a decision over the children's parades that form the centre of National Day celebrations on May 17. 
 
“We know that this is a decision we have to take, but we want to know a little more first,” Justice Minister Monica Mæland said in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. 
 
As many as 450,000 people take place in the city's Pride march every year, making it one of the most colourful and well-attended events in the city each year. 
 
In the press release, Dreyer said that his organisation was already planning “alternative events to show the strength of our community”. 
 
“We will be live-streaming debates to showcase the breadth of our movement and the diversity in our community. We will continue to make our mark as norm breakers across all social media, and we want you on board too!” he said.
 
 
Ole Prin-Sand, Head of Pride Art, said he was “heartbroken” that the physical festival had been cancelled. 
 
“But we are excited about and see great potential in engaging with an audience across the country through the use of digital solutions,” he said. 
 

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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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