Europe's leading LGBTQ+ organisations have launched a new campaign warning that attacks on Pride events should be treated as warning signs of a broader threat to democracy.
ILGA-Europe and the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) today unveiled Protect Pride. Protect Democracy., a campaign calling on European institutions to recognise restrictions on Pride as indicators of democratic backsliding and to take stronger action to defend the rights of LGBTQ+ communities across the continent.
The initiative comes as Pride season continues across Europe against a backdrop of growing concern over attempts to restrict Pride events, rising anti-LGBTQ+ hostility and increasing pressure on civil society organisations. Campaigners say Pride is often viewed solely through the lens of LGBTQ+ rights, when in reality it relies on fundamental democratic freedoms that benefit everyone.
According to the organisations behind the campaign, every Pride march, rally and celebration depends on the rights to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and participation in public life. They argue that when governments, local authorities or other institutions limit those freedoms, the consequences extend far beyond the LGBTQ+ community.
The campaign highlights a range of challenges facing Pride organisers in different parts of Europe, including bans on Pride events, inadequate protection from hostile counter-protesters, cuts to public funding, online misinformation and hate campaigns, attacks on marchers and the burning of rainbow flags. It also points to what organisers describe as a retreat by some companies from diversity, equity and inclusion commitments.
Campaigners argue that these developments are part of a wider pattern in which restrictions on visibility, expression and public participation can signal deeper democratic erosion.
Patrick van der Pass of EPOA said Pride remains one of the clearest examples of democratic freedoms being exercised in public. “Pride is not simply a celebration. It is one of the most visible expressions of the freedoms that underpin democratic societies: the freedom to gather, the freedom to speak, and the freedom to be seen. For millions of people across Europe, Pride is what those freedoms look like in practice.”
As part of the campaign, ILGA-Europe and EPOA have published an open letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. The letter calls on European leaders to recognise restrictions on Pride as indicators of democratic decline, speak out when Pride organisers come under attack and strengthen protections for the right to peaceful assembly across Europe.
Katrin Hugendubel, deputy director of ILGA-Europe, said European leaders had a responsibility to protect freedoms secured by previous generations. “Generations of Europeans worked to cultivate societies rooted in freedom, dignity and democracy. Our leaders have a duty to honour what they built by protecting the freedoms that allow Pride, and the democratic values it represents, to flourish.
“Protecting these freedoms today will help ensure that future generations inherit a Europe that is open, democratic and inclusive for all.”
The campaign, which launches on 8 July and will run through to the end of 2026, is inviting individuals, Pride organisations and civil society groups to sign the open letter and support stronger protections for democratic freedoms across Europe.
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