Madrid Gay Parade

History

Dissatisfaction with government policies that discriminated against gays and lesbians spread to Europe in the wake of Stonewall in 1969, but the first gay march in Spain was not held until 1977 in Barcelona. This was because of the atrocities committed against gays and lesbians during the Franco era, when gays were sent to re-education camps or received electroshock therapy, and gays lived in fear and were unable to resist. Two years after Franco's death, in Barcelona, the Catalan region had its own "stonewall moment" - on June 26, 1977, 4,000 social activists took to the famous La Rambla Avenue in Barcelona to protest. The next year, 1979, the movement spread to Madrid, where people also protested; however, it was not until 1995 that it was officially named the "Madrid March". Since then, MADO (Madrid March) has grown into one of the largest gay marches in Europe, with an estimated 3 million people participating in the 2019 march.

City Profile

The Chueca neighborhood is Madrid's gay and lesbian district, with a concentration of gay stores, bars and nightclubs. But as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, Madrid has a large gay population, so there are many gay and lesbian hangouts in other areas as well.

Processions

The main event of MADO is the parade, and the special thing is that the parade starts from 6-7pm and goes until late at night. Unlike the gay parades in other European cities, the Madrid parade is at night, but with the high temperatures in Spain in July, it is actually more comfortable to go to the parade at night. The Madrid parade is usually held on Saturday. The week before Saturday there are many events, and the Chueca neighborhood, which has its own parade, is the first.

Before the weekend, there will be several live music stage performances, in addition to many international circuit party production, many parties will start this week. Daytime events include a high heel race and Mr. Gay Spain auditions.