EuroPride 2008, presented by Stockholm Pride, will be a ten-day celebration featuring a unique combination of politics and partying. This year’s theme is “Swedish Sin, Breaking Borders”, focusing on international LGBT issues.
The two festival areas – Pride House and Pride Park – will offer visitors a wide range of experiences, including music, entertainment, cuisine, debates, seminars, talks, workshops, theater and, last but not least, the opportunity for mingling, networking, friendship and romance.
Throughout the festival, EuroPride will have a high profile across the city in association with museums, galleries, cinemas, clubs and shops. The Pride Parade, which has grown over the years to become something of a street party, will make its way through Stockholm on Sunday August 2. Last year’s parade featured 50,000 participants and half a million spectators.
The theme of this year’s festival represents a shift in focus beyond Sweden’s borders. The 1960s was the age of soft-core Swedish pornography – a glorious combination of nature, politics and nudity. 2008 sees the birth of a new concept: Swedish Sin.
“Here in Sweden, we’ve come a long way when it comes to LGBT rights,” says Sofia Sjöö, spokesperson for Stockholm Pride. “But in many countries, our rights are seen as sins. Attention needs to be brought to attacks on lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people around the world, and action needs to be taken. The Pride movement is an important part of the process.”
The official EuroPride song comes courtesy of the internationally-acclaimed group BWO. “The Bells of Freedom” is three and a half minutes of pure pop pleasure, advocating the rights of every individual to make the choices and live the life they want to.
“The wedding bells in the song aren’t just there because they sound good – they also send out a political message,” explains band member and producer Alexander Bard. “This is a creative, inclusive way of promoting the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people from across Europe.”
During the spring, the design of this year’s dog tag – which is given to all weekly pass holders during the festival – will be unveiled. The speaker who will launch the festival’s packed program will also be announced.
Stockholm EuroPride will begin on July 25 and end on August 3, 2008. Stockholm Pride, which broke the record for spectator numbers in 2007, is the biggest Pride festival in the Nordic region. EuroPride was first held in Stockholm in 1998, and Stockholm Pride has since decked the city out in the colors of the rainbow each year, both literally and figuratively. The full program will be published on the Stockholm Pride website during the summer: www.stockholmpride.org