In 2009 Zürich will play host to the international gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pride event that is Europe’s most exiting celebration of gay culture. EuroPride 2009 will descend upon the city from May 2^nd to June the 7^th and will feature a dynamic combination of music, sport, culture and nightlife events.


EuroPride itself was inaugurated in London in 1992 with a crowd of more than 100,000 and since then has been hosted by city’s such as Paris, Manchester, Oslo, Copenhagen. Madrid presented the largest EuroPride to date with over two million people attending. The motivation of every EuroPride is to focus attention on GLBT campaigns and culture on a European level, whilst also giving support and focus to the gay communities in each host city.


The Pride movement’s roots go back to New York in June 1969 during the Stonewall riots where for the first time a significant body of GLBT people resisted arrest and police harassment - a watershed moment for the modern GLBT movement. The EuroPride in 2009 will highlight the 40^th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots.


It’s appropriate that Zürich is the first ever Swiss host of this prestigious event. Switzerland’s biggest city has long been a home to a large GLBT community which has felt comfortable and safe in the city. Diverse and friendly, Zürich has always been exceptionally welcome to the gay visitors, and there has always been a gay presence in the heart of the old town. Looking back to the second half of the 19^th Century, Zürich has the first recorded public activities of any GLBT group in the world. The legendary bar called Barfusser, which has been running since 1956, claims to be Europe’s oldest continuously operated gay bar, whilst the gay magazine Der Kreis, which was founded here in 1943, made an important contribution to gay liberation and culture in both Europe and around the world.


Zürich’s prominent gay community will be reflected in the EuroPride programme with many of the city’s biggest GLBT events and organizations taking part. The programme commences on May the 2^nd with the opening ceremony and a big party that is open to everyone.


One of the most anticipated events will be the EuroPride Parade on June 6^th which will travel through the inner city of Zürich, starting at 2.00pm, with a convoy of tens of thousands of party goers from all the world following. The organizers of the parade are those in charge of the Christopher Street Day celebration of Zürich, the annual GLBT event that is celebrated in many European countries, often under the name of Gay Pride. The goal of the CSD Zurich organizers is to put Zurich on the GLBT world map. The Zürich gay community is, in comparison to the communities of the previous host cities, quite small but internationally well connected. The community is proud to have the opportunity to invite the world to the open, tolerant and modern city of Zürich and of course Switzerland.


Another prominent annual event in Zürich’s gay calendar is the Pink Apple, Switzerland’s biggest gay and lesbian film festival, which in 2009 will be integrated into the EuroPride programme. Each year the festival shows just under 70 screenings including new international and Swiss feature films, documentaries, and short films, ranging from popular mainstream films to small independent productions.


The annual Warmer Mai is also a huge cultural landmark in Swiss gay culture and it too will play a large part in the EuroPride celebrations in 2009. The first three weeks of the programme will have a Swiss focus, with the last ten days taking in a pan-European theme , on theatre, art and dance events. The Warmer Mai is itself Zürich’s biggest gay and lesbian event of the year and it includes a huge range of events, often ranging from gay volleyball, tango nights, lesbian ping-pong, dance workshops, cabaret, white parties – there is always something for everyone !


Sport will also play an integral part in the EuroPride 2009 programme. From May 30^th to June 1st various sport tournaments will take place all over the city.


There will also be a number of workshops, conferences, public readings and seminars, which will be open to all throughout the month.


Plus a number of public art exhibitions revolving around gay themes will be running in galleries and museums throughout Zürich.


And of course as Zürich is the city which is quickly becoming known as the club capital of Europe (Zürich has more clubs per head of population than any other European city) there will be numerous exciting parties and club events running throughout the EuroPride, which will showcase Zürich’s exciting and diverse club culture.


The city itself will also be hosting a Town Festival which will be a big celebration of Zürich’s openness towards it’s gay community on the 5^th and 6^th of June. The festival will take place in the EuroPride village in the city centre, where town streets and squares will be closed to play host to food stalls, open air concerts, bars and street artists. On the 6^th June there will also be a political rally with various speakers staged here.


For more detailed information on all the events, the programme and on Zürich itself, visit the website: www.europride09.eu, which is available in different languages.

Download a PDF document with EuroPride travel packages.