Dear friends of the Rainbow Parade and Vienna Pride,
You’ve had to wait a long time for the date of the 25th Rainbow Parade (as we call the Pride Parade here in Vienna), and many of you have been waiting with anticipation to get this information. So we are very happy to be able to announce these dates: Vienna Pride will take place from 1 to 14 June 2020, and the Rainbow Parade will be on Saturday, 13 June 2020, marching across Vienna’s famous Ringstraße as every year!
Vienna Pride 1. bis 14. Juni 2020
2020 marks an important anniversary for us, namely the 25th Vienna Pride, as the first Rainbow Parade took place on the Ringstraße in 1996. Every reason to celebrate. But we should also keep in mind why it takes place: it is part of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people’s struggle for full acceptance and respect. There still isn’t a law that fully protects people against discrimination based on their sexual orientation. Moreover, genital mutilation on intersex children is still legal, and young LGBTIQ people still are much more affected by depression or even suicide. This, as well as our history and our pioneers, will be one of the central issues for 2020.
We’re keeping up the fight for LGBTIQ rights after EuroPride Vienna in 2019, especially across borders, because in parts of Europe they are under attack. EuroPride Vienna has made it clear to us that we have a special responsibility here. Last year we welcomed LGBTIQ communities from all over Europe as our guests, and the entire community here in Vienna can be proud of what it had to offer. The fact that almost half a million people took part in the Rainbow Parade and up to 800,000 visitors in the entire EuroPride Vienna made them a tremendous success. EuroPride Vienna allowed us to jumpstart something important, especially together with communities in Central and Eastern Europe. Our relationship with other international Prides has become stronger than ever, our communities are working together and are in contact more than ever before; our solidarity, our team spirit and our cooperation are at the centre of our everyday lives. And next year we will be expecting many more visitors from Central and Eastern Europe as well as Germany. We are getting bigger and we are getting louder!
We want to build on all of this and make Vienna Pride even more international, even more inclusive and offer even more opportunities for a wide variety of issues and concerns. The extensive feedback on EuroPride Vienna has been evaluated by us in detail and will be incorporated into the plans for Vienna Pride 2020. Therefore, we would again be happy to receive your ideas and suggestions, and we would be grateful for your help again next year.
25 years together for human rights; we have achieved much, but there is still a lot to do. This will also be reflected in the motto that we will be presenting in due course.
Rainbow-coloured greetings,
Your HOSI Wien and Vienna Pride