Pride Parade bangs the drum for LGBT rights
Rain didn’t dampen the festive atmosphere at the annual Zurich Pride parade that brought together 9,000 members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community on Saturday.
Under the motto #TeamforLove this year’s colourful parade was the first in its 23-year history to officially welcome disabled participants.
Two groups of people with disabilities took part to highlight that in addition to discrimination in society the disabled often also experience marginalization within the LGBT community, news agencies reported.
Photo:queer.ch
Waving rainbow flags and balloons, and accompanied by loud music, marchers paraded through central Zurich from Helvetiaplatz along Bahnhofstrasse to Werdmühleplatz.
A further 3,000 people watched from the sidelines, organisers said, despite intermittent rain.
Participants included politicians, bankers, and representatives of eight foreign embassies, including the Canadian and British.
For the second time in a row, United States Ambassador Suzi LeVine gave one of the opening speeches, in which she stressed the importance of allowing homosexual couples to marry.
#AmbSuzi is humbled and honored to be at #ZurichPride supporting #TeamForLove! pic.twitter.com/t8UTeRwXyy
— U.S. Embassy Bern (@USEmbassyBern) June 11, 2016
“Love won in the United States,” she said, referring to the Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children.
In Switzerland same-sex couples cannot marry but have had the right to register their partnerships since 2007.
In a national vote on February 28th, the Swiss decided the constitution should not define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, in what is seen as a first step towards marriage equality.
The two-day festival concluded with a late-night afterparty in the Kaufleuten club.
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Under the motto #TeamforLove this year’s colourful parade was the first in its 23-year history to officially welcome disabled participants.
Two groups of people with disabilities took part to highlight that in addition to discrimination in society the disabled often also experience marginalization within the LGBT community, news agencies reported.
Photo:queer.ch
Waving rainbow flags and balloons, and accompanied by loud music, marchers paraded through central Zurich from Helvetiaplatz along Bahnhofstrasse to Werdmühleplatz.
A further 3,000 people watched from the sidelines, organisers said, despite intermittent rain.
Participants included politicians, bankers, and representatives of eight foreign embassies, including the Canadian and British.
For the second time in a row, United States Ambassador Suzi LeVine gave one of the opening speeches, in which she stressed the importance of allowing homosexual couples to marry.
#AmbSuzi is humbled and honored to be at #ZurichPride supporting #TeamForLove! pic.twitter.com/t8UTeRwXyy
— U.S. Embassy Bern (@USEmbassyBern) June 11, 2016
“Love won in the United States,” she said, referring to the Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children.
In Switzerland same-sex couples cannot marry but have had the right to register their partnerships since 2007.
In a national vote on February 28th, the Swiss decided the constitution should not define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, in what is seen as a first step towards marriage equality.
The two-day festival concluded with a late-night afterparty in the Kaufleuten club.
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