Minister Backes at Luxembourg Pride: 'We Will Never Give in to Forces of Intolerance & Division'

The 25th edition of Luxembourg Pride culminated in the popular Street Fest in Esch-sur-Alzette on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 July 2024.

The origins of Luxembourg Pride date to 1999 when the first event was held under the name "Gay Mat".

Organised once again by Rosa Lëtzebuerg, Pride Week 2024 took place from 6 to 14 July and featured various activities (mainly in Esch-sur-Alzette and Luxembourg City), from film nights, storytelling sessions and musical performances to the Luxembourg Pride Run and the Equality March. The latter attracted several thousand people to Esch-sur-Alzette on Saturday.

Among those present with information stands at the Luxembourg Street Fest was the Ministry for Gender Equality and Diversity. As the ministry explained in a press release, Luxembourg's Minister for Gender Equality and Diversity, Yuriko Backes, was unable to take part in the Equality March due to a fractured tibia, although she did join the activists on stage to deliver her message in favour of more tolerance and to show her support for the cause of LGBTIQ+ communities.

During her speech, the minister emphasised: "We are celebrating an important moment in the history of the pride movement in Luxembourg. It is the 25th Luxembourg Pride which has become the largest event, the largest celebration of the LGBTIQ+ communities in our country and in the Greater Region. Pride is above all a big celebration for the whole of Luxembourg society. And I am particularly delighted by the fact that I see a crowd which, beyond LGBTIQ+ people, is very diverse, families with their children, adults and young people, associations to celebrate this historic moment together with the rainbow communities."

She also recalled the origins of the movement, "in a past dominated by discrimination, disrespect, violence and suffering", adding that 25 years of Pride thus "also represents an opportunity to honour the memory of all the pioneers in the fight for the rights of LGBTIQ+ people in Luxembourg and around the world."

Minister Backes concluded by emphasising that the fight is not over, because of current movements and people who call into question the achievements in advancing LGBTIQ+ rights and who want to go back to a society that divides instead of unites. "I say it today out loud and with the greatest determination: we will never give in to the forces of intolerance and division," she stressed.

The Ministry for Gender Equality and Diversity recalled that it took over the portfolio relating to the rights of LGBTIQ+ people from the Ministry of Family Affairs, Solidarity, Living Together and Reception of Refugees in November 2023.

It added that the coalition agreement provides for several measures aimed at strengthening the rights of LGBTIQ+ people.