The gay pride festival is held annually, usually in June – a.k.a. Pride Month – throughout much of the world.
Unfortunately, in the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most gay pride celebrations have been canceled, postponed, or held in virtually or in hybrid form with limited access to comply with Covid preventative measures. This has not allowed thousands of people around the world to participate in the annual gay pride celebrations, some of the most significant events for the LGBTQ+ community to come together and claim their rights and celebrate.
In 2022, finally the LGBTQ+ community will be able to return to the parade and reunite as in the old days, proudly showing off our iconic rainbow flag.
Gay pride parade: where it was born and what is its history
The gay pride parade, and the month of June in general, have a highly symbolic meaning for the queer community around the world.
Its roots date back to June 27, 1969 in New York, when police raided the historic Stonewall Inn located on Christopher Street and frequented by the local LGBTQ+ community, the bar’s customers revolted.
It was about 1:00 AM and the men of the police were forced to lock themselves inside the bar to escape the wrath of the people fed up with the continuous and unjust abuse. From that moment, the so-called Stonewall Riots began, giving birth to protests that were the foundation of the the LGBTQ+ equal rights movement.
After the uprising at the Stonewall Inn, other similar movements developed around the world that marked the beginning of the struggle by the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters for equal rights. Symbolically, June 28 was chosen as “World LGBTQ + Pride Day” on which gay pride parades are usually held in most countries of the world.
The gay pride parade over the years acquired a symbolic meaning as a way to remember the birth of the LGBTQ+ movement, as a moment of pride and as a way to claim the human rights of the global queer community. It also serves as an opportunity to feel free to be yourself, free of judgement and discrimination.
Recently in 2019, New York hosted WorldPride to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and the milestones achieved in all these years, plus bring the community together to highlight all the work we still need to do. For the occasion, about 150,000 people participated in the gay pride parade while the event in general welcomed more than 5 million visitors to the city in a single weekend.
Gay Pride 2022 in Italy
While there’s still a chance that event details may change due to the ever-evolving Covid-19 pandemic, cities all around Italy have been hard at work prepping to bring back LGBTQ+ pride celebrations even better and brighter than before. Today we bring you the gay Pride events confirmed so far in our beautiful country:
Bergamo Pride – June 11, 2022
From the theme, “A thousand and one struggle”, Bergamo Pride is back with its gay pride parade on Saturday June 11, 2022. Despite the collapse of the DDL Zan, the organizers of Bergamo Pride want to demonstrate that the struggle for equal rights continues “as the thousand of generations past, who fought for something they believed in.”
Cremona Pride – June 4, 2022
Cremona will host the first gay pride in the city in 2022. Cremona Pride will be held on Saturday June 4, with the characteristic gay pride parade. A milestone for the city that aims to be a “place to feel at home,” as Mario Feraboli, President of the Cremona Pride Committee, said.
Milan Pride – July 2, 2022
The Milan Pride 2022 gay pride parade is scheduled for Saturday July 2, 2022. In the period leading up to July, (from June 16 to July 3) many events in the Pride Square and near the gay district of Porta Venezia are held to bring LGBTQ+ folks from all over the world together.
Turin, EPOA – October 6-9, 2022
In 2022, the city of Turin will host the annual conference of the European Pride Organizers Association (EPOA). A 4 days full of training and networking events, plenary sessions, workshops, tours, dinners and dedicated evenings. The usual gay pride parade is not planned but it is an international event not to be missed especially for those who want to stay updated on all the news regarding LGBTQ + rights.
