Sweden Welcomes LGBTQ Travelers With Two Pride Festivals

LGBTQ travelers take note: starting May 29, Gothenburg, Sweden, will be covered in Pride colors and flags as a precursor for the West Pride Festival - Sweden's second largest Pride festival after Stockholm Pride. West Pride offers visitors 270 program activities, 30 of which are in English. On June 10th, West Pride's Rainbow Parade will showcase more than 15,000 participants to some 25,000 bystanders lining the streets. 

Festival highlights include: famous Swedish artists, political discussions, queer art exhibitions and drag shows. American performing artist Jonathan Celestin is expected to perform after the Rainbow parade.

About West Pride

  • Started in 2007
  • 270 program items
  • 127,000 visitors
  • 1,000 Pride flags fly for two weeks

About Gothenburg

  • Sweden's second largest city
  • Population of 556,000
  • Has a municipal LGBTQ Council, founded in 2013 (Swedens first) 
  • The Gothenburg archipelago consists of thousands of islands of different sizes

West Pride is set to take place June 7-11, 2017. The culture highlights different aspects of LGBTQ people's life situations and creates a safe environment to discuss criticism. The intention of the festival is to showcase expression by coordination and organizing art and culture in a welcoming setting.The festival is free of charge and everyone is welcome.

Stockholm Pride 2017 is slated for July 31 - August 6, 2017. Similar to West Pride, the festival focuses on raising awareness for LGBTQ issues and creating a safe zone for LGBTQ people. Next summer, Stockholm Pride and West Pride will combine forces for Europride 2018; creating a larger-than-life Pride festival. 

Visit www.westpride.se