Credit: Rosa Lëtzebuerg
Pride celebrations in Luxembourg have been taking place since the late 1990s; on the occasion of Pride Month 2024, Chronicle.lu spoke to the association Rosa Lëtzebuerg, organiser of the national Pride events which has been advocating for LGBTQ+ rights since 1996.
The first official Luxembourg Pride event, known as "Gaymat," (a Luxembourgish language pun signifying "come along") was organised in 1999 by the Rosa Lëtzebuerg association. The event has since grown and evolved, becoming an annual celebration for the LGBTQ+ community and allies in Luxembourg, featuring parades, cultural events and various activities aimed at promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. Although most Western countries celebrate Pride Month in June, Luxembourg holds related events in July, and this year marks the 25th anniversary of Luxembourg Pride.
Chronicle.lu interviewed Nicolas Nicolas Van Elsué, Board Member of Rosa Lëtzebuerg, regarding the upcoming festivities.
Chronicle.lu: Please share the main highlights and events of this year's Pride Luxembourg celebrations.
Nicolas Van Elsué: As every year, we have a special Pride Exhibition at the Rainbow Center, running from 29 June until 3 October. Furthermore, there is the Commemoration ceremony in collaboration with the National Museum of Resistance and Human Rights in Esch[-sur-Alzette], which is combined with guided tours and a reception. In addition, the Pride Run makes a return for the second time. The highlight of the Pride week with the Equality March and the Street Festival is on the weekend of 13 and 14 July, but this year is extra special as we created a Pride platform, highlighting all kinds of events organised by fellow queer organisations and partners.
Chronicle.lu: How has the reception been from the community regarding this year's Pride celebrations, and what impact do you hope it will have on LGBTQ+ visibility in Luxembourg?
Nicolas Van Elsué: To know the true impact of this year's Pride, we will have to await the results of each of the events. With the Pride platform, we wanted to ensure there are more people involved in the organisation and to have a more diverse offer of events to fit all parts of the LGBTIQ+ community. Only by working together, we can truly make Pride a community event. With the platform at least, we can gather all events under the Luxembourg Pride programme, which increases the visibility of all of our events. Through the website, Facebook and our official Pride Guide (containing all the information on the Pride Festivities and events), we are able to reach a much broader audience. Especially smaller/niche events often are overlooked, so with this platform, everyone has the same visibility. By collaborating further with different communes and venues, we can spread the word of Pride and its meaning to all corners of this country and beyond. We hope to have as many people attending the events as possible and create a more dynamic queer community.
Chronicle.lu: Reflecting on last year's celebrations, could you provide insights into the attendance numbers at previous Pride events in Luxembourg and how they have evolved over the years?
Nicolas Van Elsué: The Luxembourg Pride has undergone significant changes in the last few years. With more people getting involved, more volunteers signing up, more financial resources, etc. Pride has grown steadily over the years. From 5,000 attendees in 2019 to double that in 2022, and the biggest stage (and lineup) ever. The international presence of artists has also improved, but we focus most and primarily on the local queer artists and provide them with a platform to display their art. Be it on the grand stage or at any of the side events, there is a place and audience for everything! At the same time, increased visibility and resources has also an impact on how we conduct our collaborations and we try our best to work in a sustainable matter with partners who put concrete actions in place for the queer community. This can be done through awareness actions, participation in events, etc. As much as there are people, as diverse are our collaborations. The most challenging editions were of course 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic when we organised the online Pride, which brought many logistical issues with it and last year in 2023 to improve on the fabulous edition of 2022. We have come a long way and there is much more to come.
Chronicle.lu: What insights did you gather over the past years that influenced the planning and execution of this year's Pride march and associated events?
Nicolas Van Elsué: Although the name of the event stays the same, every year brings its own fair share of challenges in terms of organisation and execution. "After a Pride is before a Pride", meaning that as soon as one edition is over, we already look at the next edition. We look at what went well and less optimally, then we do brainstorm sessions and before you know it, we are again in planning mode.
Most insights have come through failures and the team had to come up with solutions on the spot. Luckily, we have many helping hands and creative individuals to help us through difficult times. Pride is a community event above all.
Especially the years with different circumstances (the online Pride in 2020, the Wikibeach edition in 2021, etc.) have taught us a great deal regarding the logistical aspect of Pride. Having to think out of the box and finding creative solutions is not easy, especially when everyone is a volunteer and has to sacrifice their personal time to make this event work. However, if there is one thing we have learned, it is that anyone can have a profound impact on Pride and enact change.
Chronicle.lu: Looking ahead, what are your goals for expanding Pride Luxembourg's reach and impact?
Nicolas Van Elsué: Currently, there are some wild ideas that have been going around in the Pride Team for a while. We are after all a smaller/more local Pride, so mirroring yourself to bigger cities is almost inevitable. Everyone likes to dream big. Nevertheless, change does often not come in big jumps, but rather in small steps. Things are moving in the right direction for the Luxembourg Pride, but we need to make sure to keep our identity as an open Pride (e.g. the Equality March, which is open and welcoming to everyone), and regional Pride remains. We should not lose the main focus of Pride: we march for change, we lift up marginalised voices and we create a safe space for everyone. We can only hope that more people get involved.
