Love is the Theme at Twelfth Sofia Pride

The LGBTI community in Sofia and its supporters took to the streets of the Bulgarian capital on Saturday in a colourful celebration of diversity, despite a backlash from conservative "pro-family" groups and homophobic political forces.

The 2019 Pride, which is the twelfth such event to take place in the country, went ahead under the motto "Empower love, not hate".

It attracted several thousand attendees who enjoyed concerts from domestic and international pop stars, including the winner of the 2019 Eurovision song contest, Israeli singer Netta, as well as Bulgarian pop-folk diva Galena who is the first representative of the popular, albeit controversial, genre to take it to the central stage of the Pride.

The Pride received backing from 25 diplomats and representatives of international organizations and foundations in an open letter.

As usual, the nationalist VMRO party, which is part of the ruling coalition and has long opposed the event, condemned it in a statement which claimed that "the political goals of gay pride are a problem for the whole of Bulgarian society," calling the Pride "propaganda of pink fascists".

Conservative defenders of "traditional family values" also took to the streets in a counter-march.

In recent years, anti-LGBT attitudes in the country have spiraled, fueled by a campaign in defence of traditional values and against the adoption of the so-called Istanbul Convention against gender-based violence. Launched by nationalist politicians, it has enjoyed the support of religious groups including the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

A number of politicians have made homophobic statements while hate groups have physically attacked members of the LGBT community or their property in recent months, with little...