Prague Pride announces dates for 2024 rainbow march

The Prague Pride parade will pass through the center of Prague on Saturday, Aug. 10, marking the highlight of the 14th annual LGBTQ+ community festival. This event is scheduled to take place in the capital city from Aug. 5-11, as announced by the festival’s spokeswoman, Eliška Černá.

As in previous years, the rainbow march will start at Wenceslas Square and continue to Old Town Square, ending at Letná Park, where another program on six stages will follow. The organizers have named this year’s parade the “March for Every Family,” and they anticipate 70,000 participants.

This year’s program will be announced in early July. Nine festival venues will be used, including the "village" on Střelecký Island. The spokeswoman said the organizers had decided to introduce a “recommended entrance fee” of CZK 100, CZK 300, or CZK 500. People can choose how much to contribute.

The parade was held for the first time in August 2011. Back then, it sparked stormy protests from conservatives who said it was obscene and tastelessly imposed the “ideology of homosexuality.” The term was used by then-President Václav Klaus (2003-2013), who said it was necessary to “fight the phenomenon.”

The Prague Pride Association, which organizes the festival and march, was a member of the Coalition for Marriage and other organizations. The group sought to legalize marriage for all, including gays and lesbians. It then launched the “We Are Fair” (Jsme fér) campaign. It points out, among other things, the unequal status of children from rainbow families who grow up with two mothers or two fathers. In the following years, the protests faded away.

Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected the idea of allowing same-sex couples to marry. However, same-sex couples will still have the option to enter into a civil partnership without the “registered” label. Additionally, some of the rights afforded to civil partners will be equal to those of married couples.

Government Human Rights Commissioner Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková previously told ČTK that granting equal rights to same-sex partners was a step in the right direction, but that full equality for same-sex partners in Czechia would require accepting marriage for all. Jsme fér has already announced that it will continue to fight for a redefinition of marriage to reflect this.