Today Pride Park opens its gates and some of the opening speakers from previous years’ festivals will return to participate in tonight’s programme. On the four stages, artists such Moto Boy, Nicki French, La Puma, Joshua Klipp, Rickard Söderberg, Linda Sundblad, Bob Hansson, Teater Lacrimosa, DJ Rosenberg, Lo Kauppi and Figge Norling will perform. On the Dance court there will be country disco with A Six-Pack to Go and later in the evening hip hop with God-Des and She, as well as QBoy.
- I had so much fun at the Pride festival in Stockholm last year and I have been looking forward to coming back, says QBoy, who will perform several times during the festival.
Earlier the same day, QBoy will show his documentary "Coming out to class" at Pride House, about discrimination in the British school world. Apart from that, the Wednesday programme in Pride House is focusing on HIV. In the panel discussion ”What is a HIV man?”, Swedish news media representatives will be asked the title question by the freelance journalist Anna-Maria Sörberg, who is writing a book on the subject.
- The initiative to have the HIV theme day comes from RFSL, and other participants are Sensus studieförbund, Swedish church, Posithiva gruppen, NordPol and HIV-Sverige. On Thursday, several representatives from RFSL are going to Mexico to the international HIV/aids conference there, says Reb Kerstinsdotter, the manager of Pride House.
First off on the Culture stage’s daily ”Coffee break with…” in Pride Park, is Johan Hilton, author of the book ”No Tears for Queers” about hate crimes against gay men in and outside Sweden, that drew a lot of attention both in Sweden and internationally. The gallery in Pride Park has a vernissage and reception with all this year’s artists, and at Mini Pride there will be a circus school, children’s theatre with Rut & Knut and a good-night story with Nina Hjelmqvist from Bolibompa. The finale of the programme at Mini Pride will be the country trio Cookies 'n Beans.
Pride Park is open until midnight and as a finale, Christer Fuglesang will present the ABBA-group Arrival. Of the previous years’ opening speakers, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, Amelia Adamo, Caroline Krook, Rikard Wolff, Wanja Lundby-Wedin, Mona Sahlin, Tasso Stafilidis, Ingemar Ingevik, and Carin Götblad will be present. At www.newsdesk.se in Stockholm Pride’s press room, there’s a compilation of the festival’s opening speakers 1998-2008.
Stockholm EuroPride is celebrated July 25 juli-August 3. More information about the festival and the programme can be found at www.stockholmpride.org.