Pride West 2017 in Bern, a Very Unique Gay Pride

(Blogmensgo, gay blog of March 28, 2017) Last Saturday, the organizational committee for the Bern Gay Pride (“Pride Ouest Berne”) came together to prepare the gay pride weekend of August 25 to 27, 2017 in the Swiss capital. The pride march of Pride Ouest 2017 of Bern is planned for Saturday, August 26. As different cities and regions hold the gay pride celebrations for the French-speaking part of Switzerland, this is the first time since 2000 that it will be in the capital again. The gay pride events for the Eastern part will be in Zurich again (Zurich Pride) on June 10, 2017.

[Update of June 13, 2017: Some new elements of the Pride West program at the end of this article.]

Between 12,000 and 15,000 people are expected to come to Bern for this event. Since Bern is located right on the linguistic border, the event will have a strong German-speaking influence. It will be organized by regional and national LGBT groups such as HAB (Homosexuelle Arbeitsgruppen Bern = Homosexual Task Force of Bern) and GLSBe (Gay and Lesbian Sport Bern).

The name “Pride Ouest Bern” refers to the fact that the event focuses on the Western part of the country, for example Lausanne and Vaud, Sion and Valais (French-speaking), Bern (mostly German-speaking) and the polyglot parts like Geneva, Neuchâtel and the Jura.

The slogan of this year’s gay pride is: “The Power of Diversity” (DE: Der Reichtum der Diversität, FR: La force de la diversité, IT: La forza della diversità), referring to many areas such as politics, society, culture, sports and health.

As in previous years, the gay pride events will be claiming a right for same-sex marriage and an anti-discrimination law – ideally located in Bern, where the Swiss government and parliament are rooted.

Before the actual gay pride weekend, a whole program of events is planned for the entire summer, featuring exhibitions, radio and TV shows, discussion panels and so on.

The march on August 26 is laid out like a star: People will be coming out of six different directions, each group with a specific demand, and all these parts will come together in the center, which is the Federal Plaza.

There will be a whole number of parties at various places in Bern afterwards.

The organizers are calling all artists, clubs, organization and donors who would like to participate in the event to get in contact with the pride organizers as quickly as possible.

The program for Pride Ouest 2017 is out!

[Update of June 13, 2017.]

The official news is out: Gay Pride West is programmed for August 25 to 27, 2017. The main event is the Pride Star Parade on Saturday, August 26, 2017.

Most events of the program are part of the pre-pride (Vor-Pride) between August 9 and 24, 2017. There will be book readings, a film festival, choir performances, concerts and even a murder mystery evening.

On August 24 at night, the city center or Bern between Bärengraben and Bundesplatz will be illuminated in the rainbow colors.

On Saturday, August 25, there will be speeches and numerous events all day, and at night, there will be music featuring three DJs (Anouk Amok, Dunch und Audiophil).

One of the main events will be the Sternmarsch (Star Parade), which is scheduled for Saturday, 4 p.m. with at least 20 different groups. Each of the six star-shaped directions and each of the six colors of the rainbow stands for one of the central political and social LGBT demands, such as marriage for all or the fight against discrimination at work.

Until July 31st, the organizers will still accept volunteers to support Pride Ouest 2017.

Frank-S / MensGo