Pride Parade in Vienna: Celebration of diversity or commercialization?

Pride Parade in Vienna: Celebration of diversity or commercialization?

Wien, Österreich - On June 14, 2025, the "Pride Parade" in Vienna moved through the city center with around 300,000 participants. The event started at the Vienna town hall and ended in parliament. During the train, the victim of a killing spree in Graz was thought of, which was symbolized by a black mourning banner with the inscription "Our hearts are in Graz". This silent mourning phase ended, and the parade continued with a happy mood.

The organizer of the parade, the Hosi (Homosexual Initiative Vienna), has received significant financial support from the City of Vienna in recent years, a total of over 1.5 million euros between 2020 and 2025. The Vienna anti-discrimination agency for LGBTIQ matters (WAST) was also present and received more than 2 million euros to promote their work in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

commercialization of the Pride parade

The Pride parade is strongly shaped by commercialization. Numerous companies and brands as well as political parties introduced themselves to the participants. The Greens and the SPÖ were represented with their own vehicles and members, while the NEOS had a stand in the "Pride Village" in front of the town hall. The other participating organizations included the Vienna, Vienna Energie, Vienna Health Association as well as companies such as Nivea and ÖBB.

parallel to the colorful parade, the “March fürn ass” took place with a few hundred participants, organized by the queer feminist group “Furia”. This demonstration criticized the commercialization of the event. The participants waved flags, including Antifa flags, and chanted the battle cry "Alerta, Alerta Queerfeminist". The group "Queers for Palestine" was also present, but in a small formation without a vehicle.

Vibrant event landscape and future events

Another look ahead is the Christopher Street Day Parade and the Parkfest, which will take place on June 28, 2025 in Graz. A week earlier, a colorful program is planned, including with the ecumenical rainbow service on June 24, 2025. The parade in Graz starts on June 28th at 12 p.m. in the city park and leads through a fixed route through the city. The park festival in the Volksgarten begins at 2 p.m. with live music and a family program.

A sign of solidarity was already set in Graz when the Rosalilapanthians whisper black mourning flags to commemorate the tragic events of June 10, 2025. Goodie bags are offered at various meeting points from June 16, 2025, and interested parties can bring at the Medical University from 12 noon.

The Pride Month, who is celebrated every year in June, is dedicated to the celebration of sexual and gender diversity. The beginnings of the Pride month go back to the unrest in the "Stonewall Inn" in New York on June 28, 1969, which is the beginning of an emancipation movement for the LGBTIQ community. Nowadays discrimination is a current topic; The number of corresponding crimes in Germany has been tenfold since 2010. In 2023, 1,785 such crimes were registered, which underlines the urgency of events such as the Pride parade.

Exxpress.at , Graz.net href = "https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/taegliche-dosis-politik/562676/pride-month/"> bpb.de report on the developments and the context around the Pride parade.