Torremolinos officially presents bid to host Europride 2027 festival

The town is competing against Vilnius (Lithuania), Turin (Italy) and Gloucestershire (United Kingdom) and staging the event on the Costa del Sol would potentially bring hundreds of thousands of visitors

Iván Gelibter

Malaga

Wednesday, 11 September 2024, 09:22

Torremolinos has officially presented its bid to host Europride 2027, an event which would bring hundreds of thousands of people to the Costa del Sol.

The town collected almost 50 letters of support from various institutions throughout Spain, Malaga province and the Andalucía region. They form part of Torremolinos' official bid which was presented to the 140 members of EPOA (the organisation that decides the Europride candidacy) on Friday 6 September. Torremolinos is up against Vilnius (Lithuania), Turin (Italy) and Gloucestershire (United Kingdom), with a winner to be announced in Porto on 2 November.

Torremolinos has a great advantage - that it has become one of the main centres of LGBT freedom on the continent, but also in the world. From its origins as a diverse destination in the midst of Franco's regime, through the meaning of the Pasaje Begoña, to today, where the last Pride in June brought together almost 75,000 people, in a town with barely 70,000 inhabitants.

Torremolinos' candidacy team pointed out they highlighted the town's history of more than 100 years of vanguard and freedom "against all odds". "The town belongs to a country, Spain, which is holding its own against the advance of the far right throughout Europe, it is a state in which LGBT rights in Spain are respected, recognised and not questioned by society," they said.

Supporters of the candidacy

For them, Torremolinos is one of the great promoters of further progress in rights, and proof of this is the support of their Europride candidacy. "Torremolinos guarantees a diverse, multicultural, safe, inclusive, free and open-to-dialogue space. As is the European Union. And this is also a powerful message for the LGBT community and for Europe itself," they said.

The first three letters of support came from Torremolinos town hall, the ministry of equality and the Junta de Andalucía. The ministry of health, the Diputación de Malaga and town halls of Fuengirola and Benalmádena, among others, also showed their support for the candidacy.

LGTB associations from all over Spain also sent letters of support, as did employers' associations such as Aehcos and cultural institutions such as ESAD.

EPOA president Lenny Emson said rights and freedoms of LGBT people are "at risk" in all parts of Europe. "We are already seeing governments backtracking on our rights despite open opposition. The four proposals published today show that in the candidate countries: Spain, Italy, Lithuania and the UK, our community is concerned but determined to fight back."

Emson said Pride events in Europe have, since the early 1970s, taken the right to LGBT equality to the streets, and continue to do so. "Those who think that Pride has lost its meaning or has been politically silenced should read these nominations and see that, in every corner of Europe, protest is in our hearts and in our lungs. Wherever Europride takes place in 2027, we will be proud," he said.

How a winner will be selected

As of now, EPOA members have until 2 November to read the bids. Each member attending the annual conference has one vote and the winner is selected by a simple majority vote.

Europride started in London in 1992 and has been held almost every year since, with recent editions in Copenhagen (Denmark), Belgrade (Serbia) and Malta. This year's Europride took place in Thessaloniki (Greece) and next year it will be held in Lisbon (Portugal) from 14-22 June, with Lisbon hosting the event in 2025 and Amsterdam in 2026.

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