EuroPride and Prejudice: the battle for LGBTQ+ rights in Serbia

Words: Martijn Tulp; pictures: Belgrade Pride/Vesna Lalić 

This September, EuroPride will take place in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, marking the first time the event will be held in the Balkan region.

When I look up the UK government’s travel advice for the south-east European country, it says: “The level of public prejudice against homosexuality and the LGBT population is still relatively high and public displays of affection may attract negative attention.” 

To further illustrate levels of homophobia in Serbia, a survey in 2015-16 found that 83 percent oppose gay marriage and 75 percent feel that society should not accept homosexuality, according to Pew Research Centre data published on Equaldex.

It’s clear that this year’s EuroPride will have a different feel from previous events in host cities such as Vienna, Madrid, and Amsterdam.

Over the past 21 years, the Serbian capital has hosted nine Pride events, the first and second of which resulted in riots.

Despite this, the country’s LGBTQ+ community has not given up on its right to protest for better treatment: this year’s EuroPride will be a culmination of this endeavour.

Pride in Belgrade

After the political reforms in 2000, when Serbia became a democracy, there was hope that life for the country’s LGBTQ+ community would improve.

In the wake of the millennium, local activists who had spoken out about human rights in the 80s felt that the time was finally right to organise the Balkan region’s very first Pride parade.

On that day in June 2001, less than 100 LGBTQ+ activists took part in the Belgrade event, but both the marchers and the police were completely unprepared when they were attacked by hundreds of right-wing extremists and hooligans.

The shocking images of violence shown on the news became engraved in the collective memory.

Three years passed before another Pride parade was planned, but as the government could not guarantee safety, the 2004 Pride was cancelled.

“It is time that this Pride is no longer automatically associated with riots” 

It would be 2010 — nearly a decade — before a second Pride march took place, this time with the government’s cooperation. Belgrade was put in lockdown and there were tanks on patrol.

Some 600 activists were protected by no less than 10,000 police officers from the 10,000 hooligans who were looking to cause trouble.

Although the area of the Pride parade was sealed off and secure, riots occurred throughout the rest of the city, causing much damage to public buildings. The outcome? The Serbian government banned the Pride march.

Although the Supreme Court of Serbia declared the ban unconstitutional in 2011, it was not lifted. In 2012, the parade was banned the night before. In 2013, the Pride organisers had had enough and decided to hold a midnight march in protest.

The following year, the government finally lifted the ban, and Belgrade Pride and its parade have been taking place in relative harmony every year since (with the exception of 2020, due to the pandemic).

Despite the banning of the Pride parade, other Pride activities have been taking place since 2011. Pride week is now bigger in scope: last year there were 80 events throughout Belgrade, including debates, exhibitions, theatre performances, film screenings, and, of course, parties.

On stage Bekvalac says, “There is only one law, and that is love!”

Since 2018, the parade has been followed by a large concert. The police deployment has decreased, while the number of visitors has increased. In 2019, for the first time, there were more participants than police officers.

There is still room for improvement, however. For instance, it is not possible to just join the parade: there are specific access points, where security assesses whether to allow you through.

Belgrade Pride coordinator and activist Marko Mihailović says, “It sometimes causes people who want to participate in the Pride not to be allowed in, because Belgrade Pride’s security requires such a huge amount of police power, officers are also flown in from outside Belgrade, who are often even more conservative and therefore less helpful.”

The organisation could also use more cooperation from the police, adds Mihailović, who became involved with Belgrade Pride in 2016.

“We make sure they are extensively informed of our plans, but always hear only on the day of the event how big their commitment will be and where the access points will be.”

Bidding for equality

Mihailović is only too aware of the differences between Belgrade Pride and others in Europe’s more liberal cities, but these were fundamental to the Serbian capital winning their bid to host EuroPride.

In 2019, the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA), consisting of more than 30 European Prides, determined which city would host this year’s EuroPride. During the selection process, the delegation for Belgrade EuroPride saw Barcelona as their biggest competitor.

“Their Pride is completely different: it attracts millions of visitors,” Mihailović points out. “The LGBTQ community in Spain has many more rights: everyone can get married, there are adoption regulations and so on. During their presentation, the Pride delegation from Barcelona shouted something along the lines of, ‘With us, every day feels like EuroPride,’ to which someone from the audience rightly remarked, ‘But then why is it still important for you to host EuroPride?’”

During their presentation, the Belgrade EuroPride team showed footage of the disastrous 2001 Pride, and then showed how the situation has improved since then — but they also emphasised that the country still has a long way to go.

Serbian drag queen Loakiin

The result: Belgrade won, with over 70 percent of the vote.

The Serbian capital’s victory was no surprise for EPOA board member Steve Taylor, who says, “Hopefully, EuroPride will help them make Belgrade Pride a more public event, requiring less security. It is time that this Pride is no longer automatically associated with riots. That would already be a huge improvement.”

That said, it will be a different kind of Pride, as Taylor admits, “We have urged the Belgrade Pride organisation to make it clear in their communications that it is not a ‘party Pride’. It’s not like Pride Amsterdam, where you can walk through the city hand in hand with your boyfriend. You have to be really careful. Prepare well, think about how best to get from A to B in the city.”

But Mihailović adds that tourists coming to EuroPride should not worry about their safety.

Serbian pop star and Belgrade Pride 2021 headliner Nataša Bekvalac with Belgrade Pride coordinator Marko Mihailović

“Belgrade can’t afford the bad PR if something were to happen to one of the visitors. Of course, there are things that are better not to do: walking hand in hand or kissing your partner in the street, I would really advise against. We will provide information to Pride visitors so they know what to look out for.”

Nikola Planojevic is data coordinator at Da se zna! (which loosely translates as ‘let it be known’), an organisation which since 2017 has been recording the number of hate crimes taking place against Serbia’s queer community. He, too, advises vigilance.

“During the last edition of Belgrade Pride, everything went peacefully during the parade and subsequent celebrations, but we received reports that visitors were harassed on the streets and public transport after the event, especially if they had visibly participated in the parade, for example by carrying a rainbow flag,” he reveals.

Nevertheless, Planojevic does not expect that visitors will be in serious danger.

Progress

Pride is all about bringing about change and although this is proceeding very slowly, there are signs that life is getting better for the Serbian queer community.

“The number of violent attacks has decreased over the years, at least in Belgrade,” Planojevic points out. Aside from tracking hate crimes, Da se zna! offers victims legal advice, provides assistance when people want to report an offence and links them to victim support if necessary. The organisation also provides information and workshops.

“There are even officers at certain police stations who are specifically trained to take reports of anti- LGBTQ+ violence,” says Planojevic.

“However, the contrast between acceptance in Belgrade and Novi Sad [Serbia’s second city] and the rest of the country is great. Outside of those two cities, there are hardly any places or organisations where queer individuals can go.”

The march is more than a love parade in Belgrade

Mihailović agrees that the situation is improving little by little. “When I went to clubs as a teenager it was quite normal for hooligans to wait for you at the exit to beat you up. Tear gas bombs were also regularly thrown inside,” he recalls.

“Such situations are unthinkable today. In Serbian TV series, we are increasingly seeing queer characters who are not portrayed as clowns, but who lead very normal lives. There is indeed progress.”

With EuroPride putting Belgrade in the spotlight this year, Mihailović hopes for better cooperation with government agencies and, ultimately, for change.

“After all, the government doesn’t want to be made a fool of, and will undoubtedly use EuroPride to show how EU-friendly Serbia is. It is now said that the government is doing everything possible to improve human rights in the country, but in practice little comes of it.”

The march is more than a love parade in Belgrade

In 2017, the openly lesbian Ana Brnabić became prime minister. “The fact that we have a lesbian prime minister has contributed in a big way to the visibility of our community,” shares Mihailović, before adding: “At the same time, she has hardly done anything for us.”

For example, the Serbian government has been discussing cohabitation contracts for same-sex couples for years.

But when President Aleksandar Vučić said in a television interview last year that he will not sign such a bill because he considers it unconstitutional, those talks came to a halt.

“We are told that after the elections in April the bill will be discussed again, but I’m not getting my hopes up,” says Mihailović.

Solidarity

In the meantime, Belgrade Pride continues to move forward. Mihailović has observed that over the years, younger and younger visitors are attending.

“I think that is a good development: it shows that queer youth and their allies are daring to show themselves more and more,” he reflects. He also highlights how, in the past, it was difficult for them to find commercial sponsors for the event.

“We need to show that we are here, that we are oppressed, and that we cannot go on like this” – Marko Mihailović

“But now that we host EuroPride, companies like IKEA do know how to find us,” says Mihailović, beaming.

“Many local companies want to join us for the first time this year, which is great to see. I understand that our fight for equality requires a long haul, but I expect EuroPride to give us a big push in the right direction. So far with Belgrade Pride we have not attracted more than 3,000 visitors, but I predict that with EuroPride we will go over 10,000.”

Mihailović hopes that many tourists will come to Belgrade EuroPride. “With this event we can show the LGBTQ+ community in the rest of the world that the battle is not yet won. It’s nice that you can be openly LGBTQ+ in your own city, but there are still plenty of cities around the world where the community is being oppressed and where the struggle for equality continues,” he says.

 Pride is for everybody 

“Showing solidarity is essential. We want to show the rest of the world what we are struggling with. Our struggle has been going on for 20 years, and we still don’t have equal rights. We hope that EuroPride will provide additional visibility and momentum, and improve the position for LGBTQ+ persons not only in Serbia but throughout the Western Balkans. This in turn has the potential to bring economic, democratic and political benefits.”

That said, Mihailović does not want potential visitors to their EuroPride to be discouraged by the activist nature of the event.

“lf you have the opportunity to be there, come. Belgrade is a very affordable destination, the weather in September is beautiful, there are handsome men, good food and interesting history. It is so important for us that people outside Serbia come to EuroPride and show that they are in solidarity with us.

“We need to show that we are here, that we are oppressed, and that we cannot go on like this. There are so many young people who are bullied, who run away from home, and who face violence. The more visitors who come to EuroPride, the louder our voice becomes, and the better we can show that we too deserve equal rights.”

EuroPride takes place from 12-18 September. For more information, visit prajd.rs/en

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