Barcelona applies to host EuroPride 2022

The Catalan capital is one of an unprecedented five cities competing to host the 30^th anniversary of the annual gathering, together with Belgrade, Dublin, Maspalomas in the Canary Islands, and a joint candidacy by Porto and Lisbon.

EuroPride, which aims to boost the visibility of the Pride movement across the continent, has been held in a different city each year since the first-ever version in London in 1992.

Pride Barcelona's Juan Julià said that the city "is ready to hold the biggest Pride in Europe" after its "historic record" of 2018, where over 380,000 people attended 100 LGBT+ events.

"Developing project"

"It would be the culmination of a developing LGBTI project in Barcelona," Julià added, "with a cultural and party program that grows every year, alongside powerful social campaigns."

The winning city will not be announced until after the 2019 EuroPride in Vienna.

Barcelona, as well as the neighboring coastal town of Sitges, is considered among the most gay-friendly cities in Spain. In 2014, the Catalan parliament became the first legislature in the country to implement fines for homophobic attacks and emphasize positive "discrimination."