150,000-person LGBT+ parade in Barcelona to confront the current "wave of reaction"

BarcelonaThousands of people—200,000 according to the organizers, 150,000 according to the Guardia Urbana—participated in the LGBTI Pride parade this Saturday afternoon in Barcelona. The march, under the slogan "Why without diversity the world would be gray. Against censorship and the wave of reaction," began in Plaça Universitat and continued to Passeig de Lluís Companys, where concerts will be held until dawn. The regional minister for Equality and Feminism, Eva Menor, emphasized that "human rights are non-negotiable" and reiterated the Catalan government's "commitment" to these rights "in the face of the wave of reaction that is calling into question this rights-defending agenda." Also among those in attendance were the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni; the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo; and the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun.

This year's edition features 57 floats and follows the same route as last year, along Gran Via, heading towards Plaza Tetuan, and continuing along Passeig Sant Joan. Road closures on one of the city's main arteries have caused queues to enter Barcelona and significant traffic problems throughout the Eixample district.

"We are here to celebrate the progress made, but also to continue demanding it and not take a single step back, but rather important steps forward," declared Redondo, who called for a stand against an "international of hate" that threatens the rights of the LGBTI community. The Spanish minister recalled that Barcelona hosted the first Pride demonstrations in Spain in the late 1970s. Therefore, Pedro Sánchez's government will support the Catalan capital's bid to celebrate WorldPride in 2030.

Urtasun, for her part, emphasized that this Saturday is "a day of happiness in the streets of Barcelona, which are filled with love, pride, and rights to demand, once again this year, that everyone is free to love however they want, whoever they want, and to live their lives in complete freedom." The city's mayor, Jaume Collboni, has defended the need to protect "the free will of all citizens," as well as "the freedom of expression of all." Both Collboni and Urtasun participated in the Budapest march at the end of June, which defied the ban decreed by the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The organizers of Pride Barcelona, a celebration that began last Thursday with a speech by theater director Àngel Llàcer, hope to surpass last year's attendance, when they brought together 400,000 people over the three days of festivities.