Preparations for this year's Split Pride have come to an end, and we have the details!
The Split Pride procession will commence on its regular route on Saturday, June 24, 2017. The gathering will begin at 17:00 and at 18:00, the procession will take off from Đardin and continue onto Ulica kralja Tomislava, Marmontova, and across to the Riva and Pjaca where the Pride flag will be raised for the fifth time, reports Dalmatinski Portal on June 17, 2017.
This year's Pride is organized by the United Split LGBTIQ scene, consisting of several associations and enthusiasts including Rišpet, Flomaster, queerAnarchive and Bitcherin. The event this year will be held under the slogan "Our Colorful Story." The purpose of the gathering is to highlight the many problems LGBTIQ people face in Split every day.
“Problems surrounding LGBTIQ individuals in Split and Croatia are challenging and painful. They represent the object of everyday struggle and fear. For our fellow citizens we wish, therefore, to tell our story. We want you to know, loud and clear, just how difficult it is to be a gay person in Split,” says Mirta Barić from the Bitcherin Initiative, who added that they do not expect a higher turnout than in previous years.
“There won't be too many people, but we still expect that there will be many supporters,” Barić added.
Le Zbor from Zagreb will perform at Pjaca and again after the procession returns to Đardin. There is a planned DJ program until 22:00, after which the party will head to Kocka where the fun will continue until the early morning hours.
“The LGBTIQ community in Split is active and is rich in its specifics and differences. The program of this year's Pride, therefore, encompasses cultural and artistic activities, workshops and events that we want to present to the various elements of our subculture. We hope this project will illuminate and bring our struggles, fears, and values within the community closer together. We hope Split will listen to our story,” the organizers said.
It is still unclear which famous characters of Split will join in the procession. Mirta Barić says that they will ask the new mayor at the beginning of next week, along with everyone else.
"This year, everything happened last minute because we had financial problems. No one supported us, but we managed to make everything happen and organize the event,” added Barić, who does not expect any problems at this year’s event.
“A large number of policemen who secure the procession will undoubtedly affect whether someone decides to create a mess or not, but I also think that people are getting used to it. Split was not ready for the first Pride, but over time the city has become accustomed to the word ‘Pride’ itself and the notion of the LGBT community. Pride represents something less scary and unknown, and thus they are less destructive and unwilling to react to it,” concluded Barić, who hopes that things will move smoothly and that less of a disarray means more acceptance.
