Bulgarian Capital to Host 4th Sofia Pride Gay Parade

Bulgaria's capital will host Saturday the fourth edition of  Sofia Pride, a march for equal rights of persons of different sexual orientation or gender identity.

Over 1000 participants are expected to attend the demonstration celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) culture.

The gathering point for Sofia Pride 2011 is the Lovers' bridge right behind the National Palace of Culture (NDK). The event will start at 16:00 and last until 17:30, covering the following route- Lovers 'Bridge (NDK) - Fridtjof Nansen Str- Vasil Levski Blvd - Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd- Soviet Army monument.

To ensure a clear passage for the demonstration, the traffic along the planned route will be intermittently restricted.

"The Pride is not a demonstration of sexuality. The Pride is an element of the fight for the unhampered expression of every type of sexual orientation. The Pride is the visible part of the battle against people being murdered, beaten to death, insulted, mocked, dismissed, chased away from home or suppressed because of who they love", the organizers of the event claim.

Like the previous three editions of the event, Sofia Pride 2011 will also take place under enhanced security measures.

In the meantime, the Sofia municipality rejected a call of an anti-LGBT organization to hold a parallel rally, with Deputy Mayor for Security Ivan Sotirov saying that such a march would only be permitted at a different place and time.

Sofia Pride 2011 has so far been backed by the embassies of the USA, Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Germany, Slovenia, Finland and Norway, Austria, France and Switzerland and a number of non-governmental organizations.

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