On June 8, 2024, the Viennese showed their colors - in one way or another. While some picked out their rainbow flags, others tried to mobilize as many people as possible for the counter-demonstration to the Vienna Rainbow Parade. However, the latter went differently than planned.
What a heat it was! It was almost as if someone had turned up the thermostat to see as many people as possible topless. And it worked. Some of the more than 300,000 people who gathered on the Vienna Ring in the bright sunshine at midday were - to put it casually - very lightly clad. Even what felt like 35 degrees didn't stop the community from dancing and celebrating.
Vienna is colorful
Under the motto "Pride is a demonstration", many members of the LGTBQIA+ community, allies and a few curious people gathered in advance at the Pride Village on Rathausplatz. This "village" consisted mainly of tents housing bars, but also stores and advice centers. The main attraction, however, were the birds of paradise that strolled along the Pride Village. While queuing at the food truck, you might find yourself standing behind a well-built lady in a feather headdress. However, the beauty outed herself as a drag queen at the latest when she ordered in a low voice. Some costumes showed much more than they concealed and I have to admit that I looked twice at some of the parade participants.
While some of the participants tried to beat the heat with a fan, others took up the offer from Wiener Stadtwerke. A nice glass of cold tap water. Visitors who wanted something with a little more pep found what they were looking for at one of the many bars in the Pride Village. As at almost all festivals, there were also food trucks offering exotic specialties (onigiri and curry pan) or classics (currywurst etc.).
At the rainbow parade, the motto was: stand out!
Back in the hustle and bustle, my first impression was confirmed when the visitors lined up for the highlight of Pride Month: The rainbow parade. The bolder the costume, the more striking the colors and the skimpier the fabric, the better. However, there were some visitors who wanted to stand out in other ways. For example, a pink unicorn walked around among drag queens, men with bare backsides and visitors with body painting.
Georg, as the pink exotic is called, is a 35-year-old psychotherapy student and has unfortunately already experienced hatred towards people in the community. Born in Vienna, he says that people look at you funny just for holding hands in the street. That's why Pride Month is still necessary, despite the progress made towards equality (adoption rights, marriage for all). A 23-year-old Viennese woman notes that "legal changes, safe spaces and education in schools are more urgently needed than in public places". However, Pride is a step in the right direction.
As the Vienna Rainbow Parade sets off from Rathausplatz, another group forms up on Stephansplatz at the same time. However, these are not counter-demonstrators, as some young participants explain to me with whistles and placards.
There was a counter-demonstration!
The loud protesters are the "counter-counter-demo". Yes, there is that too. "Traditionally, the counter-demonstration starts from here to Heldenplatz and we, as supporters of the rainbow parade, were simply quicker. We registered a demonstration for this square before the counter-demonstrators had a chance to do so," explains the 27-year-old activist, who wishes to remain anonymous. He can't help but smile slightly in victory.
The Rainbow Parade heralds the end of a whole month that brings the difficulties of the LGTBQIA+ community into the public eye. There is a lot on offer throughout June: Children's book readings by drag queens, comedy shows, queer karaoke nights, but there were also women's walks on the topic of "Lesbian Vienna". In case you overdid it at the Vienna Pride Brunch: A special yoga session could help.
HOSI organized everything.
Rathausplatz is filled with spectators as the rainbow parade completes its lap along Ringstrasse at around four o'clock in the afternoon. It is the finale of the raucous event, which was organized by the Viennese initiative HOSI . The initiative has been trying to give the members of the LGTBQIA+ community a voice since it was founded in 1979. After all, that's around 900,000 Austrians whose rights HOSI is fighting for. A serious background that is somewhat masked by sequins, feather boas and loud music.
This is precisely one of the points of criticism: The festival has become too commercialized and people have lost sight of the essentials. Since the first rainbow parade in June 1996, visitor numbers have risen steadily from 25,000 to 340,000 attendees in 2024. However, there is also a lot of advertising to make the rainbow parade and Pridemonth even better known.
Is Pride "too popular"?
All this advertising leads to the next point of contention: Pride is already "too popular" for some people. Some young people explained that people only hear "Pride", while other important issues are forgotten. "Almost nobody knows that June also stands for men's mental health," says a 17-year-old passer-by.
Even though the parade ended in the late afternoon, Vienna Pride continued: back at the Pride Village, speeches were given by activists and politicians and then another highlight for many visitors began with the Pride Night. Exuberant partying to booming beats. As much as I would have loved to be there, I had to catch a train. But I've already made a reminder for next year.
See you in 2025, Vienna Pride.
Sources:
Vienna Pride Homepage(https://viennapride.at/)
HOSI Homepage(https://www.hosiwien.at/
Interviews with Pride visitors
Copyright pictures:
Cover picture, pictures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 Ingrid Müller
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