It’s that time of the year again: Summer of Pride 2019. Taking place all over the continent, Europe’s cities go all out to celebrate and suppoty the LGBTQ community with epic Pride festivals and people coming together from all over the world to support the movement. Expect colourful parades, parties and fun events throughout June to August. Are you planning on jetting off somewhere new to celebrate Pride this year? Join in the celebrations and keep yourself updated with the dates and times of Pride events taking place around Europe so can book your trip. We’ve rounded up the best cities to celebrate so you can have the Pride of your life this summer…
LONDON
4th June - 6th July
Pride London is the UK’s biggest festival of the year to celebrate the LGBT community and it runs from June all the way to July. The theme from London Pride 2019 is #PrideJubilee, remembering fifty years of activism, protests and victories that have made our movement what it is today. This year, the Pride Parade takes place on Saturday 6th July starting at 12pm from Portland Place and will travel all the way through Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Regents Street, Pall Mall and finishing off at Whitehall. Don’t miss the colourful celebration and join in the fun. Our top tip is to eat beforehand if you plan on drinking and keep an eye on London’s public transport updates on the day using tfl.gov.uk .
In the run up to the parade, Pride events will be taking place throughout June and the start of July. From cabaret shows, craft fairs, parties, ping pong, mixers, comedy shows, seminars, talent shows, live music and even a Pride bike ride, see what’s on here .
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AMSTERDAM
27th July - 4th August
Amsterdam sure knows how to party; just take a look at King’s Day every April. Being the only city in the world that has Homomonument, you can imagine the Dutch capital takes Gay Pride pretty seriously (making it one of the best places to celebrate). For 2019, Pride Amsterdam will have weekend-long street parties, circuit parties and of course, the Canal Parade to celebrate and support the LGBT community. The street parties and canal parade will be taking place on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th August and is one of the busiest times of the year in Amsterdam, so if you need a hostel for the event make sure to book your accommodation and flights as soon as possible.
To keep up to date with all of Amsterdam’s Pride events in July, visit this page where you can get the know on Pride Festivals, Drag Queen Olympics, Pride walks and club nights.
BERLIN
26th July - 28th July
Gay Pride in Berlin is one of the best street parties in the world. Known in German as Christopher’s Street Parade (CSD) the event has been held in Berlin since 1979. This year, Berlin Pride is taking place during the weekend (Friday 26th July - Sunday 28th July) with the main parade happening on Saturday 27th. There will be lots going on from boat parties on the River Spree, LGBT film screenings in local cinemas, club nights in trendy Kreuzberg and massive street parties. Want to know logistics? The parade on Saturday leaves at 12pm from Kurfürstendamm and finishes at 14:00 Brandenburger Tor where a massive party will take place until midnight. Expect live music, DJs and entertainment on the main stage.
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BARCELONA
28th - 29th June
This year’s Pride Barcelona is dedicated to families, throwing a giant festival in the heart of the city to celebrate LGBTQ families in the community. Pride BCN is one of Europe’s biggest! The famous Pride Parade will be taking place on the 29th, starting at Parc de les Tres Xemeneies, through Paral.lel Avenue all the way to Maria Cristina for about 7pm. But don’t miss the classic Barcelona Pride festivities on Friday 28th, especially the Heels Race on Avenida Maria Cristina - literally a running race but in high heels, and there’s no need to preregister if you fancy taking part!
The Barcelona Drag Race is another main event, where the ‘Queen of Pride’ is announced later in the night, plus 2019 brings the first Pride Dance. Expect performances from Eurovision winners, Barcelona’s best drag queens, DJs and more. There’s never a dull moment at Pride BCN so if you’re in the city for it this year, you’re in for a real treat.
BRIGHTON
2nd - 4th August
Want to celebrate Pride by the sea in the UK’s Gay Capital? The seaside resort of Brighton is famous for its gay community so it’s no wonder the Pride event is a massive deal in the South Coast of England each year, attracting as much hype as London’s Pride. The city plays host to the UK’s biggest Pride music festival on Saturday 3rd ‘Pride in the Park’ and this year there are some seriously incredible musicians taking to stage to support the LGBT community including some of the music industry’s biggest stars such as Kylie Minogue and Clean Bandit. There’s also the Pride Love BN1 Fest, a music festival taking place on Sunday with Jessie J and Grace Jones headlining.
The Pride Parade will take place on Saturday 3rd August with the theme ‘Generations of Love – Celebrating 50 years of campaigning with Pride’. Already, Brighton Pride has raised over £700,000 for its local community through Pride.
PARIS
14th - 30th June
With over 50 events on the calendar for Pride Paris this year, you won’t be stuck wondering what to do while you’re in the city during this fortnight. On 29th June, don’t miss the Marche des Fiertes LGBT, Paris’ Pride Parade starting at 2pm on Place de la Concorde and following a route through the city’s historic sites. Paris has been parading for equal rights for over 40 years! So it’s no wonder it’s become one of the best cities in Europe to celebrate. March with the multicoloured crowd and countless floats all the way to Place de la Republique at about 5pm when the music stages and festivities really kick off.
MADRID
June 28th - July 7th
One of the most underrated cities to celebrate Gay Pride, Madrid never lets us down for an amazing atmosphere. The Spanish capital has long been a very diverse, friendly and open city so we’re not surprised Pride is celebrated throughout the city in amazing ways. 2 million people are expected to attend the main Pride Parade on Saturday 6th July. The Parade will travel through one of Madrid’s main streets, the Paseo del Prado starting at 5pm and ending at midnight. It’s set to be pretty epic.
Expect open air parties, concerts, sports events and entertainment all throughout Amsterdam Pride to support the movement in the fight for LGBTIQ equality and human rights from around the world. Throughout Pride you can enjoy badminton, basketball, swimming, tennis and volleyball competitions that will fill Madrid with colour and diversity.
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VIENNA
1st - 16th June
Host city for EuroPride 2019, the atmosphere for Pride in Vienna will of course be something to remember. This year the city’s hosting a EuroPride Village, in front of the City Hall at Rathausplatz with the Pride Stage hosting free concerts by national and international music artists. The EuroPride Parade will be marching on 15th June, taking the sea of colour along Wiener Ringstrasse from the City Hall at midday, with a moment of remembrance at 3pm.
For the city’s biggest ever Pride celebrations, this year the festivities will even take over Sigmund-Freud-Park with another stage and programme of events happening here in a more relaxed setting. Plus, there’ll be a EuroPride Run on the 14th, with 1,500 people running 5k ‘for acceptance’ - something the city encourages festival-goers not to forget as they enjoy the atmosphere.