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There is only one more day left to find out if Torremolinos will finally host EuroPride 2027, the biggest LGBT event in Europe, which would bring together half a million people on the Costa del Sol for about ten days. The decision will be taken by around 200 representatives of the EPOA assembly (the umbrella organisation for all European Prides) at its annual meeting, which is being held in Porto this weekend.
SUR will send a special team to cover this event in the Portuguese city, reporting live on all the latest news. In addition, the newspaper has published a special edition of SIX (the LGBT magazine) in English under the title Road to EuroPride Torremolinos 2027, in which all the strong points of the candidacy are analysed through interviews with the main protagonists. In addition, some of the most outstanding stories of people from the LGTB community in Andalucía and Torremolinos are reviewed.
This special edition of SIX is presented in English so that all EPOA assembly members (who come from all over Europe) and the other guests at this European meeting can get to know first-hand all these stories and this declaration of intent of local civil society, which is none other than to host this event in 2027.
Torremolinos was, is and will be the coastline of freedom. This is the slogan chosen by the Andalusian municipality to present its candidacy for EuroPride 2027 at the EPOA assembly on 2 November. Vilnius (Lithuania), Turin (Italy) and Gloucestershire (United Kingdom) are the other three candidate cities.
Throughout this process, Torremolinos has managed to collect more than fifty letters of support from the main institutions of our country, but also from practically all of Malaga, Andalusian and Spanish civil society, as well as from employers' associations and other cultural institutions. It should be noted that beyond the festive, tourist and leisure event, the main objective of EuroPride is to vindicate the rights of LGBT people, a group whose rights are beginning to be questioned in other parts of Europe.
The central idea on which the whole proposal pivots is to present the town as a beacon for the entire LGBT community, both in the past and today. "The history of Torremolinos cannot be understood without the history of the LGBT community and vice versa, because together they have forged a space of freedom and coexistence that is part of our diversity," explained the mayor, Margarita del Cid. "This town was a place of colour, of joy, of enthusiasm, at a time when the rest of our country was living in black and white. Precisely because of this, we have almost a moral obligation to return to being that prism of colour in the face of those parts of the world, some of them very close geographically, that continue to live in black and white. Freedom is a conquest, it is a privilege for those of us who enjoy it, but it must never cease to be a vindication," she added.
Torremolinos' candidacy is based on an unprecedented institutional consensus. In fact, the first three letters of support are proof of this: Torremolinos town hall, the ministry of equality and the Andalusian regional government. The ministry of health, the provincial authority and the town councils of Malaga, Fuengirola and Benalmádena, among others, are also added.
On the other hand, LGBT associations from all over Spain have also sent letters of support, which have been joined by hotel and catering associations such as Aehcos, cultural institutions such as ESAD and, in general, any kind of civil society organisation in Torremolinos, which the candidacy itself considers a historic milestone for the town.
Lenny Emson, president of EPOA, said a few weeks ago that the rights and freedoms of the gay community are "at risk" everywhere in Europe. "We are already seeing governments backtracking on our rights despite open opposition. The four proposals published today show that in the candidate countries: Spain, Italy, Lithuania and the UK, our community is concerned but determined to fight back."
Emson explained that Prides in Europe have, since the early 1970s, taken the right to LGBT equality to the streets, and continue to do so. "Those who think that Pride has lost its meaning or has been politically silenced should read these nominations and see that, in every corner of Europe, protest is in our hearts and in our lungs. Wherever Europride takes place in 2027, we will be proud," he said.
Europride began in London in 1992 and has been held almost every year since, with recent editions in Copenhagen (Denmark), Belgrade (Serbia) and Malta. This year's EuroPride took place in Thessaloniki (Greece) and next year it will be held in Lisbon (Portugal) from 14-22 June, while Amsterdam will host it in 2026.
The Europride organising committee of Torremolinos has been working for months to have a serious project that a few days ago they handed over to the European representatives of EPOA, who have until 2 November to read the projects. Each of them - some 140 in total - attending the annual conference has one vote and the winner is selected by a simple majority vote.
The EuroPride 2027 programme in Torremolinos will run from 28 May to 6 June 2027, ten days full of diverse activities that will take place in different parts of the municipality. From the human rights conference to the Europride march, including opening and closing ceremonies, the event will offer spaces for debate, cultural encounters and celebrations.
The 'senior programme', the educational programme, and the 'queer programme' are just some of the outstanding initiatives that will be present, ensuring an "inclusive and representative celebration of all facets of the LGBT community", according to the organisation.
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