Stockholm Gay Pride Festival- 2012

Posted by zlatin on

Today, August 1st, is the official kick-off for Stockholm Pride Festival... arguably the largest festival on the calendar in Stockholm. Besides being a time for the LGBT community to party & demonstrate, it is also an opportunity for Stockholmers in general to celebrate the tolerance in Swedish society and the fact that the city has been named the gay friendliest city on the planet... not once, but twice this past year!

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The festival runs until Sunday, August 4th, and there are a ton of events each day... movies, seminars, workshops, concerts, performances, parties and (of course) the parade. I can't possibly list all of the happenings here, but you can check the Pride website to see the calendar of events. It is good to know that most events are to be found either in the Pride House or the Pride Park (Tantolunden). There is an entrance fee to the park and you can either buy a day pass or a week pass. Tickets can be purchased at the door, online, at the tourist information office or at a ticnet outlet. There are also a number of nightly parties at different venues throughout the city each evening... more information can be found in the calendar. QX.se also has a list of the parties on their website, though in Swedish (try using google translate).

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The Pride Parade happens on Saturday, starting at 1pm in Humlegården and ending at approximately 4pm in Pride Park. This is a popular event with over 500,000 spectators lining the streets in past years. The parade route runs up the street Hornsgatan right past the Rival Hotel and Pride Park is just a 15 minute walk from the hotel... so you will be perfectly situated to enjoy the festivities. Happy Pride!