PRIDE WAVE: PROTESTS IN BERGAMO AND PARMA TODAY ON THE EVE OF THE DAY AGAINST HOMOSEXUALISM AND TRANSPHOBIA. PIAZZONI: "PRIDE MARKS ARE THE ANTIDOTE AND THE ANSWER TO HATRED."“
Bologna, May 16, 2026 – The 2026 Pride Wave continues, the large-scale mobilization sweeping Italy from north to south to demand rights, visibility, and equality for LGBTQIA+ people, promoted by Arcigay and other local and national associations. After the symbolic launch last April 11th in Sanremo, site of the first public protest by the Italian gay movement in 1972, today the baton passes to two cities: Bergamo and Parma. The Bergamo Pride has scheduled its meeting point for 4:00 PM in front of the Bergamo train station, in Piazzale Marconi; Parma Pride, on the other hand, will depart at 6:00 PM in Piazzale Santa Croce. Onda Pride 2026 will then continue until September with a calendar of parades across the country: over 40 Pride events have already announced their dates, but the goal is to surpass last year's record of 60 parades.
Today's demonstrations are taking place on the eve of the International Day Against Homolesbobitransphobia on May 17. Arcigay just yesterday released the 2026 Homolesbobitransphobia Report, which records 127 incidents of violence and discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people, places, and symbols in the last 12 months. This figure represents the tip of the iceberg of a largely hidden phenomenon: many victims don't report it for fear of public exposure, family or workplace scrutiny, or secondary victimization. "The data," Arcigay comments, Gabriele Piazzoni, General Secretary of Arcigay – they give us a very clear picture: in Italy today, being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer means exposing oneself to a concrete risk of violence. In this sense, the Pride Wave is both an antidote and a response to hatred: first of all, it shows that we are not retreating, that our pride does not and will never retreat. Secondly, we keep LGBTQIA+ people safe, we gather together in our community, in our relationships that the state struggles to recognize but which are a strong, stable, and concrete network. On the streets, when we are all together, nothing scares us, not even the predators of serial violence, those who actually come looking for us, who graze our spaces to make us feel unwelcome. To those who perpetrate this violence, and to its many instigators, we respond with a wave of pride, anger, celebration, and freedom. To all the people who will take to the streets today: happy Pride!”, concludes Piazzoni.
All the info on www.ondapride.it
