Celebrations, culture and a message. Over 15,900 people took part in the first edition of L’Orgullosa, the six-week festival which filled the city’s neighbourhoods with activities to stand up for LGBTI rights and celebrate sexual and gender diversity.
The event which drew the biggest crowd was the musical gala at the Olympic Ring on 28 June, coinciding with International LGBTI Pride Day. In all, 7,962 people attended the event during the course of the day, with numbers peaking at 3,790 during the busiest point.
The gala was one of the highlights of the festival, with a top-class line-up featuring artists such as Maria Arnal, Rodrigo Cuevas, Samantha Hudson, Putochinomaricón and Maruja Limón.
Yet L’Orgullosa also spread to the city’s ten districts and their neighbourhoods with an ambitious programme of cultural activities, demands, leisure and reflection.
L’Orgullosa has been present in museums, libraries, community centres, creation factories, art centres and elderly people’s centres since 21 May, as well as in public space. The wide array of initiatives helped highlight the value of the social and cultural fabric of the city’s neighbourhoods, as well as the variety of voices, different disciplines and formats.
Hence the festival included live arts, concerts, performances, video art, films, debates, workshops, cooking sessions, poetry, DJ sets and video sessions, a real blend of activities generating opportunities for critical thinking and giving visibility to sexual and gender dissidence.
A proud city
The celebrations saw Barcelona connect with its festive side and show the world that it is a leader in LGBTI rights and freedoms, the fight against LGBTI-phobia and the promotion of sexual and gender diversity.
The festival sought to be the voice of a city proud of its diversity, clearly pronouncing itself as a defender of LGBTI rights.
The festival came in addition to other well-established Pride activities in the city, headed by organisations and with moments such as the traditional hanging of the rainbow flag from the balcony of the City Hall and the gathering of LGBTI organisations in Plaça de Sant Jaume.