About 6,000 people marched through central Nicosia on Saturday in the largest Cyprus Pride in the event’s history, with organisers Accept – LGBTI Cyprus saying roughly 8,000 attended festival events over three weeks.
The march on June 6 capped a programme of events that ran from May 15. The event was held under the auspices of the President of the Republic and Nicosia Municipality, with support from the European Commission Representation and the European Parliament Office in Cyprus.
Activities at the Nicosia Municipal Gardens before the march included speeches, children’s activities, food stalls and free HIV and STI testing through CY Checkpoint, with the Ministry of Health present. An arts programme followed the march.
Accept secretary and spokesperson Stephanos Evangelides delivered the keynote speech, titled “I am not a minority of one.” He said he looked into the crowd and saw people: young people fighting for housing and a professional future, workers facing the cost of living, women claiming the right to their own bodies, LGBTQI+ people demanding equal access to healthcare without discrimination and stigma, and people with disabilities demanding equal access.
“We are communities that became movements,” Evangelides said, adding that they were now taking their own road to equality “not on paper, but in everyday life.”
Speakers also included representatives of Queer Cyprus on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot community, migrant community groups LGBTQ Africa and LGBT Pilipinas, and Polychromos Families. Collective KoullouMakka, a group of LGBTQI+ people with disabilities, took part by video message.
The Transport Minister spoke on behalf of the government, alongside the Mayor of Nicosia and the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights.
The event paid tribute to the late activist Costas Gavrielides and artist Andreas Karayan. Edward, partner of the late Gavrielides, told the crowd Gavrielides never stopped believing things in Cyprus could get better.
This year’s Pride placed particular emphasis on accessibility, with the march route and festival site designed to be step-free where possible, with accessible toilets, information and support points, and a designated rest area. Organisers also introduced reusable cups and reduced single-use plastic.
Accept said the demands voiced at the march were equal marriage, adoption, legal recognition of gender identity, equal access to healthcare, accessibility and effective protection from hate crimes and hate speech.
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