The 11th annual Reykjavík Gay Pride Festival (Hinsegin dagar) kicked off with an opening ceremony and a series of concerts in Háskólabíó University Cinema last night. Last year the festival attracted a record number of visitors.
From a previous Gay Pride Festival. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
Among those who performed in Háskólabíó were Bubbi Morthens, mother and daughter Ragnhildur Gísladóttir and Bryndís Jakobsdóttir, better known as Dísa, and Páll Óskar, supported by the band Hjaltalín, Fréttabladid reports.
Today, the Maddý Theater Group will have a performance, sailing trips will be on offer and a Gay Reykjavík historical walk will take place.
“It is in fact the untold story of Reykjavík. As everyone knows, homosexuality couldn’t be discussed in this country for decades and this story has never been told all in one place,” said political scientist Baldur Thórhallsson, who will guide the walk.
The highlight of the festival is the Gay Pride Parade down Laugavegur, the main shopping street, tomorrow. It begins at Hlemmur bus terminal at 2 pm and ends with a celebration on Arnarhóll, by the eastern end of the harbor.
At the opening ceremony yesterday, Mayor of Reykjavík Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir signed an extended cooperation agreement with the Gay Pride Festival, extending the agreement by three years, Morgunbladid reports.
Click here to read more about the Gay Pride Festival and its program and here to read other recent news items about this year’s festival.
