From Monday 5 to Sunday 11 August 2024, the Prague Pride festival will take place in Prague. More than 200 festival events are prepared for visitors at various locations in the city. The culmination of the festival is the Pride Parade on Saturday, August 10. The participants of the parade will leave at 12:00 from the lower part of Wenceslas Square along Na Příkopě and Havířská streets through Ovocný trh, Celetna, Staroměstské náměstí, Pařížská and Čechův most to Letenské sady. The mentioned localities will be partially restricted for traffic for approximately three hours, the closures will mostly affect the Čech bridge, which will be closed to the passage of cars, buses and trams.
“Prague will always be a city that will stand up for the rights of everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, race or religion,” says Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda.
“The theme of this year’s festival is that family is not defined by blood relations, but by love, mutual respect and unconditional acceptance. A family as a community of people who consider themselves a family. As Pirates, we insist that all families have equal rights and responsibilities, and we have been advocating marriage for all since 2018. The conservative majority in the House did not support full equalization this year, despite the majority of society. That’s why the fight for the rectification of rights does not end with us. I categorically condemn any possible manifestations of violence during the festival,” says Adam Zábranský, councilor for property, legislation and transparency.
“I am happy that the Prague Pride festival is taking place in Prague again this year, in which we as a city participate not only organizationally, but also symbolically express our support. Just like last year, in cooperation with the Technology of the City of Prague company, during the festival we will hang rainbow flags that will decorate Národní street, Most Legií and, on the day of the parade, Čechův most. There will also be lighting up of the Petřín lookout tower on the first and last evening of the festival,” said councilor for infrastructure Michal Hroza.
Traffic restrictions on Saturday, August 10 between 12:15 and 3:00 p.m. will concern tram lines No. 17, 27, 41, 42. They will be routed through the Malostranská stops in the vicinity of the Čech bridge instead of through the Faculty of Law stop. The measure will also affect bus line no. 207, which will be temporarily canceled at the Nemocnice Na Františku and Law Faculty stops, and will be routed along the left-bank road via the Čechův most and Malostranská stops to Staroměstská. Bus line No. 194 will be in operation only in the section Nemocnice pod Petřínem – Staroměstská, it will be out of service in the section Staroměstská – Florenc.
The organizers of the parade expect the participation of several tens of thousands of people. The route is slightly modified compared to previous years due to construction work in the vicinity of Prašná brány. The organizers recommend that participants come to Wenceslas Square at least an hour in advance and plan their arrival on foot from the direction of Národní trády, Republiky Square or the Můstek subway, as a tram line is being built in the upper part of Wenceslas Square and Jindřišská and Vodičkova streets are therefore less accessible.
The Prague police are preparing increased security measures throughout the festival. The Slovak National Criminal Agency brought information about a planned terrorist attack on the Rainbow Pride event, which took place in Bratislava last month. The measures will be supervised by more police officers and criminalists than usual, police officers from the anti-conflict team, first-line patrols with long weapons with ballistic protection, criminalists from the department of extremism and terrorism, law enforcement units and other specialists will be present. A police helicopter will also be available.
More about Prague Pride, including the program here.
