Prague’s First Gay Pride

Yesterday (Saturday, August 13th) was my first real chance to explore Prague without lesson plan deadlines or other stresses, and it also just so happened to be Prague’s first ever Gay Pride parade. During the weekend, there had been a variety of other parties happening around the city, but the parade is perhaps the most iconic part of Gay Pride, and so I knew that I had to go and see what was happening.

The parade itself was no massive spectacle – there were a few brilliant costumes, some great posters and a lot of pretty rainbow flags, but the most stunning part was the turnout. Riot police stood back on standby, while a handful of protesters stood, silently, holding posters of religious disapproval – but they were ignored. We started walking alongside the front of the parade, before dropping back and watching it flow past. The number of people was amazing. True, I’ve never been to Gay Pride before, but I had heard that Tokyo’s was cancelled in the past due to lack of interest. The people went on for miles; there must have been thousands. Behold some pictures…