ITALY: HUNDREDS OF GAYS AND LESBIANS GATHER TO CELEBRATE ON THE EVE OF THE GAY PRIDE MARCH

Record ID: 278339

  • Title: ITALY: HUNDREDS OF GAYS AND LESBIANS GATHER TO CELEBRATE ON THE EVE OF THE GAY PRIDE MARCH
  • Date: 8th July 2000
  • Summary: ROME, ITALY (JULY 7, 2000) (REUTERS) 1. SLV GAY MEN AND WOMEN LOOKING AT STALLS IN TOR DI VALLE (3 SHOTS) 0.12 2. MV ITALIAN SINGER LOREDANA BERTE DEDICATING MUSIC TO WORLD GAY PRIDE 0.26 3. MV /SCU GAY MEN AND WOMEN DANCING AND KISSING AT CONCERT (3 SHOTS) 0.41 4. SCU LOREDANA BERTE SINGING 0.47 5. SLV/SCU/SLV HUNDREDS OF
  • Embargoed: 23rd July 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ROME, ITALY
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVA592ZORT6ZWAX9SSJ4H3PMEYOO
  • Story Text: Hundreds of gay men and women gathered in Rome on
    Friday evening to celebrate the night away before joining a
    gay pride march scheduled to pass through the centre of the
    city on Saturday.

    Rome has been hosting a week long World Pride gay
    festival, the highlight of which will be a parade through the
    streets of the city on Saturday (July 8). The gay pride march
    has drawn outrage from rightist and religious groups because
    it coincides with the the Holy year for the Catholic church.

    Many of the gays gathered on Friday evening (July 7) at
    the Tor di Valle hyperdrome to listen to Italian musicians
    such as former Bjorn Bjorg girlfriend, Loredana Berte, who
    dedicated her music to World Gay Pride.

    The gay community, which has arrived from all over the
    world to attend the parade, has concentrated more on having a
    good time than creating waves and seems to have a very down to
    earth view of the religious debate towards their march. Jim
    Provenzano, a gay man from San Francisco said: I think the
    Catholic church is full of a lot of closeted homosexuals and
    drag queens and I think they are very envious of gay and
    lesbian people who are out of the closet. Its sad, I know this
    is a very catholic country but the Vatican city is not the
    world. It is a very small city full of a very old religion
    that needs to grow up.

    An Italian drag queen Platinette said: Priests, cardinals
    and bishops are the only ones who always wear dresses, I
    certainly cant compete with them.

    We want to take part in this march only to show our pride
    in being gay, lesbian and transexual said Italian lesbian
    Monica Barondi.


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