The “Garden of the Seasons” on the beach front of Thessaloniki, was flooded with the colors of the rainbow, loud music, colorful flags. Its curtain opened with an impressive musical event Europride 2024 in Thessaloniki. A crowd of people, including children, enthusiastically welcomed artists from Greece and abroad, such as Leopold from Germany, to the amphitheater stage.

“Today we are here for the opening ceremony which is essentially the trigger for the nine-day festival that we have prepared”, the member of the organizing committee of Europride 2024 pointed out to APE BEE Leo Emmanuel and noted that “it is a great celebration for our city, for our community and for the whole world that fights for human rights and we are all very excited”.

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We are thrilled and excited, that there is this pulse, this mood, even though it is three days, people come and want to participate in this official opening of the wonderful event. From Thessaloniki we are sending our message to all of Europe, we want to move forward, we cannot tolerate any more delays, they are our lives, we must move forward and build an inclusive society together, and that is why we are here, for let’s show it with love and acceptance”, underlined Apostolos Karabairis, director of Thessaloniki Pride.

The deputy mayor of Sports, Youth & Volunteering Koula Giannakidou attended the opening ceremony, underlining that Thessaloniki proudly welcomes Europride 2024 which is being held for the first time in Greece and this is very important for the city.

The representative of the German consulate general in Thessaloniki Maria Oikonomidou, welcomed the event and emphasized that “it is the duty of all of us to support human rights, as they are guaranteed through the Treaty of the European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The German consulate promotes the EU’s fields of action on rights, democracy and gender, while at the same time supporting gender diversity, in the diplomatic authorities”.

It is recalled that EuroPride 2024, which will last until June 29 and will culminate with the established pride parade, is licensed by the European Association of Pride Organizers (European Pride Organizers Association, www.epoa.eu) while it is under the auspices of the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization. A huge banner has been placed on the facade of the town hall, while an advertising spot was created in collaboration with the Tourism Organization.