Prague Mayor leads city's first Pride parade in three years

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib and his wife led a procession across the Czech capital yesterday afternoon during the city's first Pride parade in three years, capping events accompanying this year's Prague Pride festival.

According to police estimates, 60,000 people took part in this year's Pride parade, double the 30,000 initially expected by organizers. Various groups of people joined in the procession as it marched through Prague's city center.

The parade began at Prague's Wenceslas Square after noon and saw participants march through Old Town Square and down Pařížská street. It ended atop Letná hill at around 2:15 p.m., and culminated with a series of concerts heading into the evening hours.

Performances by Tom Auspaul, Girli, and We Are Domi, who represented the Czech Republic at this year's Eurovision contest, finished off the celebrations at Letná.

According to local reports, a peaceful atmosphere dominated yesterday's parade, and no significant protests were encountered along the way. The procession was largely greeted by cheering and applause from onlookers and tourists.

"We did not notice any disruption of public order or other problems," Prague Police spokesperson Jan Rybanský told reporters.

Prague mayor Zdeněk Hřib, his wife, and others led the parade procession, carrying the Prague Pride Festival 2022 banner. Rainbow flags were held by many of the participants marching through the city; earlier in the week, Prague City Hall flew a rainbow flag to kick off this year's festival.

This year's Pride parade was Prague's first since 2019. While a limited version of the Prague Pride festival took place in 2020 and 2021, the parade itself was cancelled due to pandemic restrictions and related concerns.

Cars were not utilized in this year's parade for the first time, with the organizers citing sustainability as a reason for their absence.

"I like [...] the company of these people," Sebastian from Prague, who attended this year's parade for the second time, told ČTK.

"Because the people are nice, there's such a relaxed atmosphere. We're all cool, we have fun, all the best."

"[The parade] stands for the right thing," said Eliška, another participant, highlighting the positive atmosphere of yesterday's event.