2023's Alternative Pride picnic in the Sad Janka Kráľa park in Bratislava. (source: Altprajd)
This Saturday will see not one, but two, LGBT+ Pride events happening in Bratislava.
The first, Dúhový Pride - Rainbow Pride - has been happening yearly since 2010. It has faced annual counter demonstrations from conservative groups. It will take place in the Námestie slobody square from around 12:00 and will feature a variety of music and drag events, as well as workshops on various Queer topics.
Some Slovak queers are not happy with the direction the mainstream Pride event is taking. This year, across the Danube river, Bratislava's Petržalka borough will play host to the second annual Alternative Pride - Altprajd - event in Bratislava.
Why Altprajd exists
"It is not in the spirit of the original Stonewall riots," a spokesperson for Altprajd said.
The Stonewall riots occurred in New York in 1969 and are seen by many as the precursor to modern Pride movements around the world. The organisers of Altprajd feel that the corporate sponsors of Dúhový Pride support causes around the world that are incompatible with radical Queer activism.
"It ends up mainly being a festival appealing to straight and cis people. There's not anything inherently wrong with it being a festival, but in the end some of the people who have the most difficulty living in society - Trans and gender non-conforming people - end up getting sidelined. So we try to centre their voices."
First Alternative Pride events failed
The first attempts at an Alternative Pride event go back to 2016, but these failed to stick. Last year saw the first successful event, a picnic in Sad Janka Kráľa.
Altprajd this year consists of two parts. The first is a picnic in Petržalka's Vlastenecké námestie square starting around 14:00 this Saturday. There will be free vegan food, a workshop exploring the need for Alt Pride events and a performance by the musical group kompLEX. From around 19:30 there will be the Altrprajd after party at the T3 venue - the repurposed Tatra T3 tram sitting on the far side of the Old Bridge. There will be music from a trio of DJs from the FLINTA (Femme, Lesbian, Intersex, Nonbinary, Trans, Agender) section of the Queer community.
While most of the members of Altprajd are Slovak, they are open to members and attendees from outside Slovakia.
"Bratislava isn't there yet. We are not Prague or Brno, but we would of course be open to more cooperation with foreigners like you would in any normal capital city."
In 2022 Slovakia's Queer community was shocked by the murder of two queer people outside a popular gay bar in the city centre. Dúhový Pride responded by moving to its new location on Námestie slobody and increasing the police presence at the event. According to the organisers of Altprajd, the radical activist nature of their event precludes them from anything other than the bare minimum of interaction with the police when it comes to organising their event, and would be handling the security of the event themselves.
