Zagreb Pride () is the annual LGBTIQ+ pride march in the city of Zagreb, Croatia, which first took place in 2002, as the first successful pride march in Southeast Europe. Zagreb Pride organizers say their work was inspired by the Stonewall Riots and the Gay Liberation Front. It identifies itself as an LGBTIQ+ march, in 2003, changed its name from Gay Pride Zagreb to Zagreb Pride. The Pride was organized by a volunteer-based, and grass-roots Organizing Committee that was formed each year. A new organization founded in 2008 as a non-governmental organization Zagreb Pride that also registered the use of the name as a brand. The organization is a member of InterPride, EPOA, IGLYO, ILGA-Europe and in 2010, together with Lesbian Organization LORI and Domino, it was the founding member of Croatian first national LGBT association, Center for LGBT Equality (). Pride receives funding from the City of Zagreb and a number of international human rights organizations and embassies.
The event usually consists of a Pride March through the city center, followed by a gathering at the Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square where speeches are given by LGBTIQ activists. Each year the organizers adopt a theme and a collection of principles and values called the "Pride platform", which is designed to be reflected in the march, speeches, and publicity for the event. Since 2015 the program of Zagreb Pride is held in Park Ribnjak instead of Zrinjevac.
Since 2011, Pride Week has been established, with various of daily political, activist and social events, all related to the Pride theme. During the Pride Week, Zagreb's legalized squat AKC Medika was turned into the "Pride House".
Zagreb Pride, Ljubljana Pride and Belgrade Pride are each other's "sister prides".
Political impact Since the first Pride held in Croatia LGBT rights and acceptance of LGBT persons have seen significant progress. In 2003, one year after the first LGBT pride in Croatia, then ruling coalition consisted of mostly center-left parties and managed to agree and passed a law on same-sex unions. The law granted same-sex partners who have cohabited for at least 3 years similar rights as those enjoyed by unmarried cohabiting opposite-sex partners in terms of inheritance and financial support. However, it excluded adoption rights or any other right included in the family code as this law was not part thereof, but rather a separate piece of legislation. Registering those relationships was not allowed nor did they include the right to make a joint declaration of taxes, property, health insurance, pensions etc. Despite this law being more symbolic rather than practical, it was considered as a milestone in the Croatian legal system as it was the first to recognize the existence of same-sex relationships.
On 11 May 2012, Prime Minister Zoran Milanović announced a further expansion of rights for same-sex relationships with the equivalent rights and responsibilities to those of marriage except for adoption. Sabor passed the Life Partnership Act on 15 July 2014, which replaced the law on same-sex relationships passed in 2003. This law made same-sex couples equal to married couples in everything except adoption. However, an institution similar to stepchild adoption called partner-guardian has been created.
Croatia also prohibits all discrimination against LGBT individuals through several laws:
Penal Code (includes hate crime legislation and "racial and other discrimination") Gender Equality Law Criminal Procedure Law Law on Science and Higher Studies Media Law Electronic Media Law (anti-discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression) Life Partnership Act Labour Code Sport Law Asylum Law The Law on volunteering (anti-discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression)
On 1 January 2013, the new Penal Code was introduced with the recognition of hate crimes based on gender identity.
Political support for LGBT rights in Croatia is significant. At the time of the first Pride, coalition consisted of mostly center-left parties was in power, providing support for future expansion of rights. However, one member of this coalition was also the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), which strongly opposes LGBT rights. Most of the members of the coalition initially proposed registered partnerships for same-sex couples, but HSS insisted for this to be dropped as a condition for their continued support of the coalition. Concessions had to be made and the parties agreed on unregistered cohabitation for same-sex couples.
In 2003, a parliamentary election was held, and the right-wing Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the majority of seats. HDZ opposes LGBT rights, but they have enacted several laws that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as part of the negotiation process before joining the European Union. They remained in power until late 2011 when the centre-left Kukuriku coalition won the election.
Third Croatian President Ivo Josipović provides strong support for full LGBT rights, along with many other celebrities and center-left political parties such as Social Democratic Party (SDP), Croatian People's Party (HNS), Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), the Green List, and the Workers Party. He was one of the most prominent supporters of LGBT rights even before he was elected president. Following his election, he has met with LGBT associations several times expressing support.
Vesna Pusić, a member of HNS, is very popular among Croatian LGBT community, and was voted the "Gay Friendly Person of the Decade" by the LGBT community. As a government member, she has been actively involved in improving LGBT rights. A member of SDP and former Minister of Environment and Nature Protection in the Kukuriku coalition, Mirela Holy, has been a notable supporter of LGBT rights for years. She has participated in every Croatian LGBT pride to date. Other supporters of LGBT rights in Croatia are Rade Šerbedžija, Drago Pilsel, Ivo Banac, Furio Radin, Darinko Kosor, Đurđa Adlešič, Vesna Teršelič, Lidija Bajuk, Mario Kovač, Nina Violić, former Prime Minister Ivica Račan's widow Dijana Pleština, pop group E.N.I., Severina Vučković, Vlatka Pokos, Luka Nižetić, Franka Batelić, Arsen Bauk, Peđa Grbin, Tomislav Tomašević, Boris Milošević etc. Hundreds of public figures have thus far expressed support for LGBT rights.
In 2012, Zagreb Pride formed an LGBT parents group whose representatives met President Ivo Josipović, and spoke at the 2012 pride march.
History
2002 On 29 June 2002, the very first Pride march of sexual and gender minorities took place in Zagreb's park Zrinjevac. Gay Pride Zagreb 2002 was entitled "" ('Coming out AGAINST prejudice'). Approximately 300 individuals participated, including some of the top state officials. The motto was Coming Out AGAINST prejudices (Iskorak KONTRA Predrasuda).
Sometime around 9:00, just before the gathering, unknown attackers beat up Croatian theatre director Mario Kovač, who was supposed to be Pride's master of ceremonies. As the gathering progressed, homophobic opponents to Gay Pride Zagreb rallied at the western side of Zrinjevac, yelling "Go to Serbia", "Kill the Serb", "Fags to concentration camps", "Heil Hitler", "Sieg Heil", "Die", and "We are Aryan", and then invoked the name of the first President of Croatia Franjo Tuđman. Some of them tried to jump over the iron fence put up at Zrinjevac, but were prevented from doing so. Throughout the gathering, the police used video cameras to record it. As the gathering was coming to an end, tear gas was thrown at the Pride crowd assembled at Zrinjevac.
Most citizens managed to leave the gathering peacefully, and security and police vehicles took the speakers to safety. However, following the gathering, approximately 20 citizens were beaten up in about ten incidents. Multimedia Institute's public space net.culture club MaMa was attacked, as it was co-organizer and host location with address listed on the poster (for pre-program and organizing work). According to Teodor Celakoski, manager of the Mama club, seven skinheads stormed into the club, receiving instructions on where to go via the mobile phone. Upon their arrival, they started to harass people, asking them who had gone to the Gay Pride. They randomly chose three people and beat them up. After the gathering, nine attackers attacked the guests of Močvara in the Tomić Street. Most commentators agree that had it not been for the police cordon, the gathering would have ended in an explosion of violence. The police brought in 27 disorderly persons (11 as a preventive measure, 10 for disorderly conduct, and 6 in order to establish their identity).
Several skinheads who threatened them and cursed them, which led to another police intervention, met the organizers of the event, who after the gathering attempted to take the props to a van that was waiting for them in Đorđić Street. The organizers left the gathering with the help of the police.
2003 The second Zagreb Pride was held on June 28, 2003, organized by the lesbian group Kontra and the Center for the Rights of Sexual and Gender Minorities Iskorak. The motto was "Proud again" (Opet ponosno) and was dedicated to the introduction of anti-discrimination provisions into Croatian laws and amendments to the Family Code.
2004 The third Zagreb Pride was held on June 19, 2004, organized by the lesbian group Kontra under the slogan Vive la différence (French for "long live diversity"). The themes of the march were discrimination against the transgender population and homophobic statements by some Catholic priests. For the first time, the march was supported by people or groups from pop culture, for example Nina Violić, Dunja Knebl, E.N.I. and Lollobrigida.
2005 The fourth Zagreb Pride in 2005 was organized by a feminist group Epikriza, and it promoted a registered partnership law proposed by two Sabor members, one of Social Democratic Party and one liberal independent member. It was the first Pride not organized by its Pride Committee. The motto of the march was Proud Together (Ponosne/i zajedno).
At the beginning of June, most prominent LGBTIQ+ group Iskorak (name stands for 'coming out' and 'step forward' in Croatian), which has been that year's logistic support, announced that its activists would not organize Pride before the summer break, also stating that the Pride march was irritating citizens of Zagreb by blocking the public transport for a few minutes, and that Pride was at that time useless to the LGBTIQ community in Croatia. They proposed that a concert with "big names" outside of city center would be more appropriate, but it was never organized. Instead, Iskorak's Pride project was replaced with the Coming Out project.
With just a few weeks of preparations and about US$1,500, an informal and until that day unknown feminist group Epikriza organized a small march in July with about 100 people and without any program. The group got media support and advice from former Pride organizers not involved with Iskorak, and logistical and financial support by Kontra and the Center for Peace Studies.
2006