The Nicosia Pride

On the 27th of May, the Nicosia Pride took place. It was organised by the NGO Accept – LGBTI Cyprus. With some friends, we decided to go. The venue was the Municipal Garden of Nicosia and the slogan of the parade was “Together we thrive”. When we got there, the place was buzzing with people dressed in the rainbow colours, wearing colourful make-up, laughing and enjoying themselves. There were many booths, those for the HIV and other sexually-transmissible disease testing, those to get food and those that were providing information about the different organisations and associations that contributed to the pride and that were supporting the LGBTIQ+ cause. Among them, the Accept – LGBTI NGO, the main sponsor of the event and the Rainbow Family community, that aims at promoting awareness for LGBTQ+ families. The atmosphere was that of a big party and it became even more so when the different shows started to take place, with drag queen shows and music. Among the artists that animated the evening, there were the drag queens Lynn Dynasty, Evita Clittorina, Gia Evangelista, Gayle Force, Masc4Mascara, the comedian Toullas Salon and the singers Vasilis Eliades and Joanne, the winner of the Voice of Greece 2021. The pride was a real success – according to the organisers of the event, more than 6,000 people took part in it. Despite these numbers being smaller than those of other capitals in Europe, it showed me a side of Nicosia that I have rarely seen, a colourful one, made of people that celebrate diversity and love.