Thousands march through Prague for Pride festival amid heightened security

Tens of thousands walked through Prague on Saturday for the week-long LGBTQ+ Pride celebration, which featured a moment of silence for a recent Berlin attack.

Around the middle of the day on Saturday, a massive crowd gathered in Prague to take part in the city’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride parade, which kicks off a week-long festival under the theme “Times are changing.” At the beginning of the march, participants observed a minute of silence for those killed and injured in a recent van attack near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day parade. Security was bolstered with hundreds of police officers and a dedicated de-escalation team, and organisers asked attendees to carry banners by hand or use plastic poles instead of wooden ones.

The procession set off from Wenceslas Square, moved through central streets, and arrived at Stvanice island on the Vltava River, where a musical celebration was held and festivities continued after dark. Kamila Frohlichova, director of Prague Pride, reiterated that the festival aims to highlight LGBT+ issues and the community’s ongoing quest for equal rights in the Czech Republic. Police reports indicated no major incidents, though a small group of counter-demonstrators appeared along part of the route.