26th İstanbul Pride Week Program Announced

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Full program of 26th İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week to be held from June 25 to July 1 has been announced.

To be realized with the theme “Sınır” (Boundary), Pride Week will end with the Pride Parade that will be organized at 5 p.m. on July 1.

Hormonal Tomato Awards, which are granted every year to homophobic, biphobic and transphobic people, will be announced with a ceremony to be held at Roxy on June 29.

Fourth hearing of the activists, who were detained during Trans Pride Parade and subjected to police violence and harassment, and 28th hearing of Ahmet Yıldız who was killed in a homophobic hate murder, coincide with the Pride Week in which workshops, panel and film screenings will take place. The activists will watch these hearings crowdedly.

What is there in the Pride Week?

Ways of forming a stronger solidarity and organizing different means of resistance will be sought with the forums, panels and screenings about LGBTI movement’s agenda during 26th İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week.

Events such as panels, workshops, film screenings, theater plays in accordance with the theme will be organized within the scope of open and free events during the week.  There is also going to be a meeting where LGBTI organizations from different cities will come together.

About İstanbul Pride Parade

Being organized for the first time in 1993 under the name of “Sexual Freedom”, the week, its events and Pride Parade were banned by the governorship; activists were detained and the guest from abroad were deported. The pride week has confronted prohibitions in the later years as well but events have continued to be organized.

First İstanbul Pride Parade was held in 2003, which is 10 years after when the Pride Week started to be organized. The first parade held with 20-30 people has grown in time. In 2013, as many as 100,000 people joined the march on İstiklal Street.

In 2015 and 2016, the Pride Parades met with police interventions. However, being persistent, the LGBTI+ movement “dispersed” to first whole İstiklal Street and then to various places in İstanbul. (ÇT/TK)