Diversity in all its colours
The new “Diversity” series kicks off with the Pride or Rainbow Parade. This year will be the 30th time that people have joined it to demonstrate in the name of acceptance, respect and equal rights.
The first Rainbow Parade in Austria took place in 1996 with the aim of drawing the public’s attention to the political demands of the LGBTIQ community. Around 25,000 participants and curious onlookers took part back then, but for this year’s 30th anniversary parade on 13th June, numbers in the hundreds of thousands are expected. Since 1997 the parade has gone “the other way” round the Ring Road: in the opposite direction to the traffic.
The Rainbow Parade along Vienna’s Ring Road is the high point of Vienna Pride, the biggest LGBTIQ event in Austria. Other related events include the Pride Conference, Community Day, the Pride Run and many more cultural and social events. The Rainbow Parade is a political demonstration that aims to increase the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people and make people aware of their particular concerns. To celebrate the anniversary, Austrian Post is taking a stand for absolute acceptance and equality by issuing a commemorative stamp. The design was selected in a competition and shows the colours and shapes used as symbols for the LGBTIQ community and to represent people of various sexual orientations and people of colour. With its vibrant colours, the rainbow, a symbol of the gay and lesbian movement since the 1970s, stands for pride, diversity and visibility.
