In one month's time, the world will be painted in rainbow colors again. Why? Because it's Pride Month! It's that one month of the year where the world celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, further proving that wherever you may be, love will always win. It rings true here in Barcelona too, a city known for its romantic atmosphere and sensual vibe. Since Spain is among the most liberated countries out there, it's no surprise that one of its most famous cities, the Catalan capital, takes
Pride Month seriously. You can expect a colorful parade, an annual high heels race, and a campy drag contest come Pride Month in Barcelona!
Expect A Colorful Parade
What is Pride Month without a Pride parade? It's the main event of the entire month! The Pride Parade has many members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies walking down the streets of Barcelona, throughout all the
different districts, to express their pride in their sexual orientation and gender identities. There are parade floats, dancers, famous celebrity performers, and more. All throughout the day, people are wearing rainbow-colored clothes and proudly wave rainbow flags everywhere. And here in Barcelona, since the Spanish are pretty open about love and sex, you can see all sorts of people getting down and dirty right there on the streets too. It's quite the spectacle!
Kids Join in The Fun Too!
One can't stress how Spain is such a progressive country enough! During Pride Month in Barcelona—or in any other Spanish city, for that matter!—even kids join in on the fun. The city sets up specific areas where kids can enjoy all the festivities too. They can go for facepaint right before the parade so they can proudly sport rainbow-colored smiles as they walk through the streets of the Catalan capital. There are all sorts of fun games they can join. As well as important educational programs and performances that teach all about the LGBTQ+ community.
Enjoy a Summer Fling
Forget
spending the holidays in Barcelona when you're single! If you're a member of the LGBTQ+ community, you'd have a ball spending Pride Month here in the Catalan capital. As already mentioned, the Spanish are known for their extremely liberated ways. And because of that, having a summer fling has become a common part of the celebration. The community, as well as the Pride Movement, has always been about letting people love who they want to love, after all. So why not go out there, meet new people, enjoy their company, and get intimate with them? It'd be a Pride Month worth remembering for a long time!
Race on High Heels
Deconstructing gender norms is a huge part of the modern-day LGBTQ+ community and of the Pride Movement in general. And among the many events of Pride Month in Barcelona, there's nothing that celebrates this more than the annual high heels race. Every year, local men, no matter their sexual orientation, put on pairs of heels and strut down the streets of Barcelona, hoping to cross the finish line first. It's a fabulous display of blurring the lines between masculinity and femininity. Not to mention it makes for great social media posts too!
Source: Flickr.com/ Ted Eytan
A Campy Drag Contest
What would the LGBTQ+ community be without drag? Even before the phenomenon that is RuPaul's Drag Race, the art of drag has had a big impact on the Pride Movement. Here in Barcelona, a famous annual event is the drag contest. Slightly similar to what fans see on the famous reality TV competition series, members of the LGBTQ+ community put on their campiest, flashiest, and most fabulous drag and strut their stuff on stage. The audience howls and hollers to support those who are doing drag for the first time and in public too.
Big Parties To Look Forward To
The gays know how to part so Pride Month in Barcelona isn't complete without a few raves! In fact, the event starts and closes with parties! Every year, a huge celebration opens up Pride Month in the Catalan capital. It's filled with music, dancing, and all that jazz. Of course, a final party is also held to put the month-long celebrations to a close. More often than not, the latter is lively and more exciting, considering that it's the culmination of many triumphant events and a grand Pride Parade. It's only natural that the community gets to end Pride Month with a bang!
From unique races to one-of-a-kind contests, there is a lot to look forward to in Pride Month in Barcelona. And you'll have so much fun that by the end of the month, you'll want to relive it all over again!
