EUROPRIDE 2019: VIENNA, AUSTRIA CELEBRATES STONEWALL 50
By Vic Gerami
Vienna, Austria, is THE place to be this year for Pride Month. In commemoration of Stonewall’s the 50th anniversary, EuroPride returns to Vienna, the city that hosted the event in 2001. The theme of this year’s event which is slated from June 1st through June 16th is “together & proud”, inviting everyone to participate, get involved and realize their vision.
EuroPride is the big joint Pride event of the European LGBT community. It takes place in a different European city every year and attracts visitors from every corner of the globe. Vienna was chosen to host the EuroPride 2019 by the European Pride Organizers Association (EPOA) in 2016.
For EuroPride 2019, the non-profit company Stonewall GmbH was founded. Its purpose is to organize various larger events in addition to the Pride Parade and the Pride Village as well as to strengthen existing and build new partnerships within and beyond the LGBT community.
GmbH’s primary goal is to promote the visibility of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, intersexual and queer people. They aim to give LGBT people and groups, the opportunity to participate in the Pride events organized by Stonewall GmbH to make a mark of pride and send a much wider message of diversity and acceptance to the world. Their objective is to embed the Rainbow Parade in a broad program of cultural and social activities that will not only benefit the Viennese people but also attract visitors from all over the world. Further, they provide the community with resources and opportunities to develop artistically and politically, as well as involving people and groups from outside the LGBT community who share similar interests.