Serbia does not want to host the Europride planned for next month in Belgrade. In agreement with the majority of the cabinet and Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, “the Pride parade, or whatever you want to call it, will be postponed or cancelled,” President Aleksandar Vučić said on Saturday. In justification, he referred to the many problems his country is currently facing.
Europride is a major pan-European event of the LGTBQ movement, which has been organized in a different European country every summer since 1992. This time it was supposed to take place in the Serbian capital from September 12th to 18th; the penultimate day was for the Pride March, which is comparable to the Christopher Street Day parade.
The organizers immediately declared that they wanted to stick to the date. “The state cannot cancel Europride – it can only try to ban it, which would be a clear violation of the constitution,” said coordinator Marko Mihailović. In a tweet, the organizers confirmed that they would demonstrate on September 17 as planned from 5 p.m.
In an interview with the Tagesspiegel months ago, Mihailović emphasized how important Europride was for queer people in the country and wished that many foreign guests would also take part: “It would be nice if queer people from all over Europe came and the city a bit more colourful. We call on the queer communities across Europe to show solidarity,” he said.
Serbia is one of the few countries that has an openly lesbian head of government in Brnabić, who is also raising a child with her partner. However, same-sex couples in Serbia cannot marry or enter into a registered partnership.
The country’s LGBTI community is also confronted with many taboos, prejudices and violence. In a survey by human rights organizations Ideas and Glic published in 2020, almost 60 percent of members of sexual minorities surveyed reported experiences of physical or emotional abuse.
14 days ago, several thousand people demonstrated in Belgrade against Europride. “We don’t want a gay parade and we don’t want western occupation” and “Keep away from children” was read on posters. Serbian Orthodox songs were played. Bishop Nikanor Bogunović blessed the participants and cursed the people who want to come to Europride.
