Pride Barcelona July 3-15 will honor older LGBTQ+ community members

Barcelona's Pride festivities will take place from July 3 to 15 and honor older members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

This year's motto is 'The pride of our lives. Celebrating getting older with us is growing.' 

This year's celebration will happen at two sites: Plaça Universitat square and Maria Cristina avenue. Overall, there will be more than 5,000 square meters with food trucks and stands, it was announced on Wednesday, coinciding with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.

The plan is to "decentralize" this year's pride, Ferran Poca, president of the organizing committee, said. 

Maria Cristina avenue will continue to host the main concerts as well as the reading of the manifesto once the demonstration on July 15 finishes.

The rally will go from the Tres Xemeneies heritage factory down Paral·lel avenue to Plaça Espanya square, the same route as the 2019 and 2021 editions.

Meanwhile, Plaça Universitat will also host some concerts with a zone full of food trucks and stands, as well as the 'Pride Kids' children's area.

The opening ceremony will happen on July 12 at the 'La Paloma' dance hall, and the next day, a manifesto will be read out at Plaça Universitat square.

Last year saw 100,000 people demonstrating, and 400,000 took part in the different activities held during the fortnight, reaching figures similar to those seen before the pandemic.

"Return to the closet"

Pride Barcelona's social sector director Maria Giralt pointed out that many older people suffer from loneliness and are "forced to return to the closet." For her, it is important to talk about old people's sexuality, as many LGBTQ+ senior couples are split when they arrive at care homes.

One of the activists during the presentation, Laura Vilar, said that many of her friends prefer to die rather than go to one of these homes.

She believes it is "important" that LGBTQ+ people feel welcomed and not humiliated.