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In the afternoon, a demonstration march with tens of thousands of participants and vehicles, starting from Rathausplatz, marched around the Ring in the opposite direction of travel to demonstrate for the rights of gays, lesbians and transgender people. The organizers spoke of over 250,000 participants.
The organizer of the Vienna Pride, Katharina Kacerovsky-Strobl, called today’s rainbow parade a “beautiful sign of life from the LGBTIQ community”. The first rainbow parade since the beginning of the pandemic was a “complete success”.
After circumnavigating the ring, the participants gathered around 6:00 p.m. for a final rally at Rathausplatz. In addition to a video message from Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, MPs Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic (Greens) and Mario Lindner (SPÖ) and NEOS Deputy Mayor Christoph Wiederkehr gave a speech. Wiederkehr emphasized that diversity and mutual respect are lived in the “rainbow capital of Vienna”, hatred and discrimination have no place here.
In addition to the parade, there was an extensive supporting program with guided tours in the Kunsthistorisches Museum or the Albertina, a special screening in the Film Museum, Beach Days or medical lectures are also offered on this exceptional day of Vienna Pride. The focus this year is on the Russian war of aggression and the solidarity of the LGBTIQ community with Ukraine, which carries the motto “Pride against hate – make love, not war!”. According to the Vienna State Police Headquarters, around 630 officers were deployed to secure and enable Vienna Pride.
Pepper spray against protesters
At Stephansplatz there was an incident between the police and demonstrators who tried to block the registered “March for the Family” demonstration by Pride opponents, the police said at the request of the APA. The police used pepper spray against the counter-demonstrators. A policewoman was hit in the head by a bottle thrown over the crowd. She sustained a laceration. During the actual parade, there were no incidents until late in the evening.
Source: Nachrichten
