Pride in Luxembourg

Origins

Although Pride is now often seen as a joyful and colourful celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, it is the product of many years of dedicated activism with origins going back to a time of great inequality in the United States.

Pride month falls into June because it commemorates the Stonewall uprising from 1969. The Stonewall uprising or riots was a key event of the Gay Liberation Movement in the US. The uprising got its name from the Stonewall Inn located in Greenwich Village in New York, which the police raided during the night of 28 June 1969. Having had enough of constant discrimination, the gay community did not disperse, as was often the case during other raids, but instead started protesting in response to the raid, the arrests, and the police’s generally rough approach.

Soon, people from neighbouring establishments and streets joined in and the protests turned into a violent confrontation between the police and protestors. In the end, the uprising lasted six days, during which thousands of people protested for gay rights and an end to discrimination.

Before the Stonewall uprising, gay rights in the US were extremely limited; for instance, it was illegal to kiss or hold hands with someone from the same sex in public or wear clothes that were not considered 'gender-appropriate'.

In light of this, hardly any bars served members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Designated gay bars, like the Stonewall Inn, although often run by criminal groups and lacking liquor licenses, were a safe space and place of refuge. Recurring police harassment disrupted these spaces where LGBTQIA+ people were able to meet in relative freedom.

While gay rights organisations already existed prior to the uprising, they became much more widespread and impactful in its aftermath, spreading a net of solidarity in the community. In 2016, Barack Obama declared the Stonewall Inn and surrounding areas a national monument in recognition of gay rights.

One year after the Stonewall uprising, on 28 June 1970, the first pride marches took place in major cities around the US. The march was then referred to as 'Christopher Street Liberation Day' in reference to the street on which the Stonewall Inn was located. Today, we still have large 'Christopher Street Day' celebrations in the summer, primarily in Europe and most notably in Berlin, that also commemorate the Stonewall uprising.

Soon, the one-day march spread to different countries and evolved into a month-long celebration of LGBTQ+ people, their identities, and contributions to society, which is now known as Pride Month. In the US, Pride Month was officially recognised for the first time by Bill Clinton in 1999.

Pride is a celebration of love and inclusivity, promotes equality, serves to educate people, and draws attention to the ongoing struggles of the community. In line with these varied goals, the activities during Pride month range from the traditional march to concerts, talks, workshops, readings, and memorials, allowing everyone to join an event which speaks to them and in which they are interested.

Why Pride?

The use of the word 'pride' goes back to the 1960s, but its definite origins cannot be determined. Brenda Howard, who played a key role in the organisation of the first march and who is known as the 'Mother of Pride', is believed to have adopted the word first.

At the beginning of the Pride movement, LGBTQ+ people were severely oppressed, lacked rights, and were regularly arrested. Claiming pride under these circumstances is an act of rebellion that announces that one does not stand for this oppression and instead is proud of one's identity and fully embraces it without feeling the need to hide it in public.

The pride flag, which is commonly seen during the month, was created as a symbol of pride for the LGBTQ+ community. The first version of the flag dates back to 1978 and was created by Gilbert Baker, who chose rainbow colours because he considered them to be "a natural flag from the sky". Each of the eight initial colours has a meaning, with pink standing for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for art, blue for harmony, and violet for spirit. However, due to production issues, pink and turquoise were removed, resulting in the six-coloured flag we still know today.

Over the years, several variations of the pride flag were created to symbolise bisexual, transexual, or pansexual pride. In 2018, Daniel Quasar created the Progress Pride Flag by adding a triangle of brown, black, blue, pink, and white to the six-coloured rainbow flag. The pink, blue, and white parts represent trans people; the brown and black colours stand for people of colour who have been traditionally underrepresented in the movement. The flag got its most recent update in 2021 when Valentino Vecchietti added a yellow triangle with a purple circle to represent intersex people.

Pride in Luxembourg

In Luxembourg, the association Rosa Lëtzebuerg has been advocating for LGBTQ+ rights since 1996 and organises Luxembourg Pride each year. The first Luxembourg Pride, initially called GayMat, took place in 1999 in Luxembourg City. It has since got bigger and moved to Esch-sur-Alzette; since 2010, it has been a week-long festival known as Pride Week.

In 2023, Pride Week is taking place from 1-9 July, with a street fest on the final weekend. The programme for this year includes, among other things, concerts, a panel discussion, and the traditional march on 8 July. The full schedule can be found here.

New this year is the Luxembourg Pride Run, a charity race of either 5 or 10km that helps support LGBTQ+ associations. More information and how to register can be found on their website.