Europride Takes Madrid!

An estimated 1.5 million party people lived it up at this year’s Europride in Madrid. The revelers toasted Spain’s government for its inclusion, including the government’s 2005 passage of gay marriage and historic trans rights laws.

Gay activist Antonio Poveda shouted during the 45-float march:

We have to defend our rights as gays, and from Spain we are going to proclaim loudly that these rights can be achieved. In this country we are in the vanguard of social victories, we had always been behind Europe.

Spain’s progressive government’s especially impressive considering homosexuality remained illegal until 1979, four years after anti-gay Francisco Franco’s dictatorship fell. Not surprisingly, the nation’s conservative Catholics aren’t down with the gays.

In addition to lauding Spain, Europriders shouted down Poland, which continues to face a gay drain. Another protester had a picture of Pope Benedict XVI. His sign read, “Watch out for the German shepherd”. And here we thought him one of those acid spitting dinosaurs from Jurassic Park.

London also hosted their own pride parade this weekend, despite the discovery of two car bombs. Paris, too, turned gay, drawing about 700,000 for their pride, many of whom blasted the government for taking a stand against gay marriage.

For more images from Europride, click here!