Prague‘s third annual Pride extravaganza came to a hot and sunny climax over the weekend, with some 20,000 people taking part in Saturday’s jubilant parade. Attendance at the increasingly must-hit Euro Pride event was up by a third from last year and nearly three times what it was just two years ago.
This year’s parade route was the first to pass directly through the city’s iconic and tourist-thronged Old Town Square – a potential logistical nightmare for police on a busy August Saturday, but one handled with impressive grace and efficiency.
The full Prague Pride roster spanned an entire week, with one of the world’s most provocative and forward-looking Pride program schedules. Highlights this year included a Coming Out & Politics panel (moderated by Curve magazine’s gorgeous editor Merryn Johns, and featuring U.S. Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island and politicians from the U.K., the Netherlands and the Czech Republic); a powerful Russian roundtable discussion called Putin’s Laws and the Criminalization of Homosexuality in Russia; an über-hip gay indie music club called Queer Noises, featuring performances by Czech queer darlings Musnula and French bearded diva superstar Burger Girl; and the Mr. Czech Bear competition.
Proving its ahead-of-the-curve position, last year’s Prague Pride was already strongly laced with anti-Putin sentiment, at that time denouncing the imprisonment of the band Pussy Riot. This year’s edition was even louder of its condemnation of the anti-gay Russian president, including a lipsticked Putin-head mannequin (wearing a Russia jacket that’d been transformed to read “Pussia”) protruding from a car in the parade.
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Meanwhile, the Gloriette building at the U.S. Embassy in Prague was lit all week in rainbow colors, and the U.S Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Norman Eisen, marched in the Pride parade. Other participants included NoH8 campaigner Adam Bouska and Indian hijra activist Abhina Sharkar, who led the march.
Polaro
Love me some Czech pride. Shame many of their neighbors are far less evolved.
crowebobby
Where were the Bel Ami boys?
nickbaer
I enjoyed shooting photo and video with Prague male models! They are very nice, and fun to work with.
They have athletic backgrounds, and are fit. They enjoy taking their clothes off and modeling for the camera.
Looking forward to my next visit there.
twoguysbrooklyn
Congrats to Prague and the Czech Republic! It looked like a great and happy day. Yes, POLARO, above, a role model for their neighbor countries. Great the one shot of the thousands filling the street below.
Jim Hlavac
FYI — the sign in the first picture held by the man in the hat: Vsichni jsme deti bozi — means “We’re all children of God” — in case anyone doesn’t speak Czech.
Jonty Coppersmith
Oh my! That shirtless blond guy in pic #25!
Geoff B
I’m not huge on pride parades myself (nothing against them personally, I just don’t do well in huge crowds), but the joy in these pictures is quite beautiful indeed. Wonderful.
Sevdalin
I’m happy about the Czech Republic, but countries like Bulgaria for example, which are a lot more conservative and a lot more damaged by the legacy of Communism, have been holding annual Pride events for years. They are the ones which need encouragement and support.
Billysees
@twoguysbrooklyn: 4
Good comment and yes also on that one shot of thousands filling the streets.
@Jim Hlavac: 5
Thanks for the translation — ” We’re all children of God “.
.
Great pics — cute, pretty, or good looking folks throughout.
hassia
Did not make it to the parade however I was in Prague on that day great city.
Kenny1948
This sure would seem like a big change. The last few gay pride celebrations in Prague have been marred by violent anti-gay violence. Has the climate changed that much, or is this more Queerty propaganda? I sincerly hope not. Prague is an enchanting city. I have not however experienced the openness I see displayed in these photos. Knowing many Czechs, who tell me it is still not safe to be gay. I find this photos spread, to be somewhat misleading. If I suddenly see a spread on Budapest Gay Pride, I will know so. Hungary a very close neighbor is just as anti-gay as Russia. Yet I see gay media pushing it as a vacation destination.
Dan Allen
@Kenny1948: Kenny1948, you are mistaken. I have been at all three Prague Prides, and I can tell you categorically that there has never been any anti-gay violence, much less violent anti-gay violence. There have been those with opposing viewpoints to be sure, but in very small numbers. Last year neo-Nazis even temporarily hijacked the Prague Pride Facebook page and tried to feed people misinformation. I’m sorry you haven’t experienced such openness there, but I assure you that the general mood on the street during Prague Pride is one of extreme joy and complete non-violence.