Over 6,500 people participated in Sofia Pride 2019

The twelfth edition of Sofia Pride took place with the motto “Do not give power to hatred.” A record number of more than 6,500 visitors gathered and rejoiced together under the warm rays of the June sunshine.

The musical program, which began shortly after 4:30 pm at the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia, featured the IVA group (Iva and Elena Todorova), Erol Ibrahimov from Wikeda, Ruth Koleva, Mila Robert, Mihaela Fileva and the 2018 Eurovision winner – Netta of Israel.

Undoubtedly, however, the main attraction was the pop-folk star Galena, who sang for the first time at Sofia Pride. The news of her participation was accompanied by controversial reactions and debates, but the popular singer undoubtedly surpassed all expectations.

In between the performance of her hits Galena did not miss the opportunity to express her support for the Bulgarian LGBT community. Flying high the rainbow flag, she told how many people asked her if she would not disappoint some of her fans by singing at Sofia Pride. Her answer to them was that if they were disappointed in her, she was also disappointed in them. Shortly before the end of her show, Galena told the huge audience: “Love has no sex, no age, no ethnicity, no boundaries for love.”

The parade match, which began at 7.30 pm, passed smoothly and without any provocation. “The pride was historic. It went beyond all our dreams, “said Simeon Vassilev, the GLAS Foundation’s chairman and one of the co-organizers of the event. “Nearly 7,000 people participated, twice as much as last year, whereas only 50 took part in the counterprotests and maybe 100 in the family support parade. We should not listen to certain political parties who say that society does not want us.”

This year, the Pride Parade in Sofia was supported by Milano Pride and Airitaly, the US Embassy in Bulgaria, Walltopia, Sutherland, VMware, H&M, the Embassy of Australia in Athens, InterPride, Absolut, the Embassy of Israel in Bulgaria, the Embassy of the United Kingdom and the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom”.

Photography: Emil Metodieff