site.btaThousands Take to the Streets for Bucharest Pride and Pro-Family Marches

Live music and a sea of small and large flags marked the beginning of the 20th Bucharest Pride in the Romanian capital. Thousands of representatives of Romania's LGBTI+ community and their supporters joined the parade Saturday afternoon. It began under heavy police presence, moving along one of the city's oldest boulevards, Calea Victoriei, watched by curious onlookers and tourists.

Participants, dressed mostly in colourful clothes and artistic outfits, chanted "Equal rights" and carried signs reading "Make love, not war," "Be proud, be brave, be yourself," "We love the same as everyone," "Love has no labels," "United under the rainbow in the fight for equality," and "Inheritance knows no borders. Neither does love. We support civil marriage."

Similar messages were printed on their clothes and bags. Pride slogans blended with calls for freedom for Palestine. Some demonstrators were seen waving Palestinian flags, as witnessed by this reporter.

"Twenty years ago, Bucharest Pride meant a line of gendarmerie officers outnumbering the participants and a level of courage that was hard to imagine in Romania. Today, the event is the country's largest annual civic demonstration for equality and freedom. The increase from 300 to 30,000 participants is not just a matter of numbers, but proof that our protest has taken root in public consciousness. We have established a strong, visible presence in public life, and we can no longer be ignored or dismissed," said Victor Ciobotaru, Executive Director of ACCEPT Association, Romania's first human rights NGO defending the rights of the LGBTI+ community.

Meanwhile, groups of religious believers appeared along the parade route, holding icons, crosses and religious flags in a peaceful but firm act of opposition. Some whispered prayers, while others stared at the crowd, visibly tense. A police cordon prevented direct contact between the two groups.

Earlier in the day, a counter-protest in support of the traditional family took place in Bucharest. The March for Normality was organized by the New Right Association and began in the Victory Square in front of the government building. Participants waved Romanian flags and chanted "Bucharest is not Sodom," "God made man and woman," and "Faith, family, homeland," and held signs reading "Family is based on the marriage between a man and a woman," "Our ancestors gave their lives for a great Romania, not for same-sex marriage," and "Decency, not decay."  

Some recited the Lord's prayer, others sang religious hymns. The demonstration was attended by Diana Sosoaca, leader of the far-right SOS Romania party, who streamed the event live on Facebook.

Bucharest Pride is publicly supported by 24 embassies.