Vilnius to host 6th Baltic Pride festival, with 20,000 expected to attend

VILNIUS – Vilnius will host the 6th Baltic Pride festival this year, with 20,000 people expected to attend.

The biggest LGBT community festival in the Baltic states will take place in the Lithuanian capital on June 2-8 under the slogan "Free to Be (Yourself)", the organizers said on Tuesday.

The festival is being organized by Lithuania's national LGBT rights organization, the Lithuanian Gay League. Its leader Vladimir Simonko says that there's a need to speak louder about European values in the context of the existing global trends.

"Diversity and equal opportunities are enshrined in the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, so they must not be extinguished by the unfavorable winds from across the Atlantic. Attempts to normalize the rhetoric aimed against us are not only a threat to one community, but also a direct attack on the basic democratic principles of society," Simonko said.

The festival's main event will be an LGBTQ+ community march on Gediminas Avenue on June 7, and the organizers are inviting people to "march together proudly for inclusion, dignity, and a future free from discrimination". The march will be followed by a concert by Lithuanian and foreign artists.

"Around 20,000 marchers are expected to take part," Simonko told BNS, adding that the Vilnius authorities have issued the necessary permits for the festival.

All events are free of charge, Simonko said.

Since 2010, the Baltic Pride march has been held every three years in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn.