The city of Liège authorities and Liège Pride have signed a tentative agreement for an LGBTQ+ pride parade to take place in the Walloon city next year, RTBF reports.
This will be the first pride parade to be celebrated in Wallonia. Currently, only Brussels and Antwerp host events.
The authorisation request for Liège Pride was filed this year, but was not granted because authorities "could not guarantee a secure route which offers a good image of the city," Mayor Willy Demeyer told RTBF.
Demeyer expressed hope that roadworks will be terminated by 2024 and tram routes will resume in time for the event.
Liège Pride will take place over three days, 23-25 August, and will include a march, for which the itinerary is yet unknown. Once a project coordinator is hired, a definitive plan will be submitted to the city hall for final approval.
"There is a real network of LGBTQIA+ life in Liège, whether it be associations, shops, clubs, bars," Liège Pride spokesperson Thierry Delaval said."There's a real fertile ground that makes Liège an obvious destination for this kind of event."
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According to Devel, it is important to defend the rights of LGBTQ+ communities in smaller cities as well.
"The timing and the objective have changed. Before, we marched to demand rights and put pressure on the political world. Today, our aim is to celebrate living together, to combat stereotypes, to promote acceptance of others, and this is an opportunity to do so at the local level," the spokesperson told RTBF.
