LGBTQ people and their sympathisers are holding an anniversary march in Vienna on Saturday. Last year s parade was cancelled, so now a huge crowd is expected. Despite the coronavirus, organisers expect 150,000 people to show up on Ringstrasse.

Vienna s rainbow community is staging a huge celebration in the Austrian capital to mark Vienna Pride s 25th anniversary, as well as the event s post-pandemic return, the organisers said. Participants will march some 5 kilometres on Vienna s Ringstrasse boulevard, which encircles the city centre, in the opposite direction of traffic. The parade marks the highlight of Vienna Week, dedicated to homosexual, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people. The series of events will end on Sunday.

The organisers expect some 150,000 people to join the march either on foot or by bike, and mask-wearing will not be mandatory. „Stay safe and stay proud,” reads the slogan of this year s event, and although it s unclear how the organisers are planning to enforce the 1-metre social distancing rule which is still in place, they say the LGBTQ parade s 150,000 participants will be assisted by „stewards.”

According to the plans, the march will reach Rathausplatz at 5 pm, where LGBTQ activists and politicians will address a crowd of tens of thousands of people during the „closing rally.”

On the occasion of Vienna Pride, the US embassy in Vienna published a video message by the US president, in which Mr Biden emphasizes that he and his wife are proud to stand by the LGBTQ community, and not just during Pride Month, but throughout the whole year.

Motorists in the Austrian capital have been asked to stay patient during what has been forecast to be a scorching day, because the march will entail traffic restrictions and public transport delays around Ringstrasse boulevard from midday until the evening hours.