From Amsterdam to Cape Town, WorldPride is coming to Africa

 

WorldPride is coming to Africa in 2028, to the South African city if Cape Town. The city was chosen by the International Association of Pride Organizers (InterPride) as the host for WorldPride 2028.

WorldPride Cape Town will be the first-ever WorldPride held on African soil, with the South African edition confirmed for 28 September to 14 October 2028. 

The WorldPride mantle is a major milestone for Cape Town, South Africa and the wider continent.

The programme will be shaped by the continent’s sporting passion, its bold contemporary arts, deep-rooted cultural and carnival traditions, its globally influential fashion, and the heritage of a people who know how to gather, celebrate, and stand together

One of the main events during Cape Town WorldPride will be a United Prides of Africa Unity Concert. Check the website here.

Congratulations Cape Town!!! Congratulations Africa!!!

First same-sex marriage in Bolivia after a legal battle

 

Fabiana Banzer and Scarlett Rocha became the first same-sex couple to have a civil marriage recorded in Bolivia, after a legal battle that lasted almost four years.

The couple formally applied for a civil marriage on October, 2022, but the union was completed after a lengthy administrative process and two constitutional injunctions filed by its team, until the couple obtained recognition and legal protection from the Bolivian state.

Bolivia recognised a same-sex civil union for the first time in 2020 after a gay couple took their battle for recognition to the courts. Bolivia’s constitutional court ruled that the civil registry must recognise their relationship as a free union.

While these legal victories are historic, it does not mean Bolivia has legalised same-sex marriage nationwide. Bolivia’s Constitution defines marriage as a union between a woman and a man, meaning same-sex marriage remains outside the country’s general legal framework.

It is time Bolivia!!!

Poland’s top court rules not to recognise EU same-sex marriages

 

Poland’s top court has rejected plans to recognise same-sex marriages that were carried out in other EU member states, in a huge blow to the country’s LGBTQ+ community.

In a statement, the Constitutional Tribunal Court said that the ruling was unanimous and final and that EU same-sex marriages could not be copied into Poland’s civil registry.

In overturning the plans, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal Court has defied an order from the Court of Justice of the European Union. The denial could lead to tension between the Polish court and the EU.

The news comes just two months after Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, assured that the country would begin recognising same-sex marriages performed in other European Union countries.

Then, Poland needs to change the law as other EU countries did before.

Pride march in Romania goes ahead despite being blocked four years in a row by municipality

 

An LGBTQ+ Pride march in Romania went ahead despite it being banned for the fourth consecutive year. The march took place in Oradea, a city in western Romania with a population of around 180,000 people. 

The city hall rejected all proposed routes and explicitly cited alleged violations of social conduct and morality norms, making Oradea a rare case within the EU for repeatedly blocking Pride. 

Despite the official ban, over a thousand of activists and supporters went ahead and held a peaceful demonstration in front of the city hall. Besides, more than 152 organisations from 30 countries have signed a statement calling on officials to allow the march to take place in complete safety and in line with EU law.

In 2025, six hundred people attended an unauthorised march in the same city, with nine participants later fined. This time representatives from several diplomatic missions took part, along with Romania’s ombudsman.

Over 30,000 people joined Pride march in Bucharest, demanding civil union partnership legislation and equal rights after presidential election buoyed the far right in Romania.

This is not an LGBTQ+ issue. This is a democratic issue. It’s about the freedom to public assembly. And if a local LGBTQ+ community in Romania can be denied this basic human right without any repercussion, it can happen pretty much anywhere in Europe, for pretty much any community.

Happy Pride!!!

2026 edition drew a record-breaking crowd 
of over 35,000 participants to Romania's capital

Discrimination rises in football, statistics says

 

LGBTQ+ football charity Kick It Out has shared that it received 203 reports of homophobia in the sport during 2025/26, which marks a 43 percent rise from the previous season.

The troubling statistics have prompted Football v Homophobia, a campaign group that was set up to fight discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in football, to issue an urgent call for action.

According to Kick It Out, the number of reports of homophobia in football during the 2025/26 season amounted to the total from the last four seasons combined.

The charity counts homophobia as everything from individual prejudice against certain players to homophobic and transphobic mass chanting from fans.

Alarmingly, the stats for youth football were even higher this season, and saw a 90 percent increase in reported incidents.

Racism remains the most reported form of discrimination, with 792 reports, up 19% year-on-year and making up 45% of the total.

Read the full statistics here.