SPAIN: Hundreds of thousands from people across Europe celebrate Madrid's Europride parade

Record ID: 277037

  • Title: SPAIN: Hundreds of thousands from people across Europe celebrate Madrid's Europride parade
  • Date: 1st July 2007
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PARTICIPANTS DRUMMING AND DANCING TOPLESS DANCER WEARING AN AFRO WIG PERFORMING TOPLESS GAY COUPLE HUGGING
  • Embargoed: 16th July 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Spain
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA42XMCHGVEYZMF99BLND2O4TYJ
  • Story Text: Hundreds of thousands from across Europe celebrate Madrid's Europride parade which tops off a colourful 10-day event in the city which has crowned itself the gay capital of Europe.
    Feather-decked drag queens partied alongside skimpily-clad hunks, parading up Madrid's central boulevard on Saturday (June 30) as the city became Europe's official gay capital.
    It was the first time that the annual-Europride celebration was held in southern Europe and people joined in from all across Europe -and the world- to celebrate that equality is possible, as Kjell Droz and Andrin Freit, respectively internet designer and CFO from Zurich, Switzerland explained.
    "It's the freedom, you know, to be gay and to know that you are not like the rest (Kjell). To show that it's possible that so many different cultures can live together, that's important really," the couple told Reuters.
    Organisers estimate Europride, Europe's gay pride festival, has attracted two million party animals to the fiesta in Madrid, packing out bars in the central Chueca district.
    But important issues lay beyond the fiesta too, lesbian advocate representing 'Lista Lesbica Italiana' Rossana Galli said.
    "Visibility is very important. Today we are here because Europe matters now. We are, with the Vatican, the last country in terms of gay and lesbian rights in Europe. It was very important to us to be here today," she said.
    Traffic was halted through the city centre as dozens of floats paraded down the main boulevard to pulsating disco rhythms. Glamorous carnaval-goers in skyscraper heels waved rainbow flags and banner reading "Poland stop homophobia" or "for sexual freedom".
    "We are here for freedom -I represent freedom, I'm the crazy butterfly, I'm the crazy butterfly (she repeats in Spanish), from Brazil," said Dimmy, a Drag Queen from Sao Paulo, Brazil, who came all the way across the ocean to spend this week in Madrid.
    The festival comprises hundreds of events, from races in high-heeled shoes to belly-dancing sessions.
    It also includes a homage to those who took part in Spain's first gay pride event 30 years ago in Barcelona which was attended by around 1000 people shortly after the end of a Fascist dictatorship.
    The Europride event should please Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero who has made sexual equality one of the tenets of his legislation, despite the frequent outrage of the Catholic Church and Spain's main conservative opposition party.
    Zapatero's government passed a law in July 2005 allowing gay marriage, and since then 3,300 couples of the same sex have tied the knot.
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