Luxembourg Pride Week: celebrate LGBTIQ diversity

Pride Week is an emblematic event for the LGBTIQ+ community in Luxembourg. Luxembourg will be celebrating the 27th edition of Luxembourg Pride Week. Once again, it promises to be a highlight of the year, combining festivities, awareness-raising, demands and solidarity.

Whether you're a long-term resident or a newcomer to Luxembourg, this event is the ideal opportunity to discover an open society that respects differences. Affirm your support for a cause that's always topical: equal rights for all.

A not-to-be-missed event for the LGBTIQ+ community

Held mainly in Esch-sur-Alzette and Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg Pride Week brings together several thousand people every year around strong values: inclusion, respect, visibility and the freedom to be yourself.

Over the course of a week, numerous free events are offered to the public: concerts, debates, artistic performances, awareness-raising actions, but also moments of meditation and protest. The aim? To celebrate diversity in all its forms, and to give a voice to those who are still fighting for equality.

Pride Week highlights

Here's an overview of the key events to mark in your diary. Dates to be confirmed.

Commemoration ceremony - July 4

Venue: Musée National de la Résistance, Esch-sur-Alzette
Schedule: 7:00 pm

This ceremony pays tribute to the LGBTIQ+ community's fight for equal rights. In a place steeped in history, it reminds us that social advances are the fruit of a collective and constant commitment.

Pride Run - July 10 in Luxembourg City

Start: Place Guillaume II
Times: 7 p.m. Kids Run and from 7:30 p.m. for the 5 and 10 km races

The Pride Run is the sporting and solidarity event of the week. Open to all, even the youngest runners aged 6 to 12, the Pride Run offers courses of 1, 5 or 10 km. Whether you're running on your own, as a family or with your colleagues, you'll be supporting an essential cause in a friendly, fun atmosphere. In 2024, over 2,300 participants answered the call.

To register, visit www.luxembourgpriderun.lu

Pride Street Festival - July 11 and 12 in Esch

A festive weekend is planned to round off Pride Week in style. On the Place de la Résistance in Esch-sur-Alzette, the public can enjoy :

• concerts and DJ sets,
• drag shows
• community stands
• a variety of food trucks
• and plenty of entertainment for young and old.

All in a joyful, friendly and committed atmosphere.

Equality March - July 11

Departure: Esch-sur-Alzette town center Times: departure at 1 p.m.

The Equality March is known as the "GayMat" in Luxembourg. It's an emblematic part of Pride Week. Participants affirm their pride and desire to live in a fairer society. The colorful and joyful floats of the gay community and its supporters send out a strong message: equality is non-negotiable.

Musical entertainment, dances, shows of all kinds and the participation of political figures are on the program for this major festival dedicated to queer people. Organized by the Rosa Lëtzebuerg association in support of the LGBTIQ+ community, this event promises tolerance and the fight against all forms of discrimination. The Center LGBTIQ+ Cigale also takes part in the event. Pride Week is not just for LGBTIQ+ people. It is open to all citizens committed to greater tolerance and inclusion. By taking part, everyone shows their support for a more open, equitable and humane society.

The rights of the LGBTQIA+ community in Luxembourg

Luxembourg is often cited as one of Europe's most progressive countries when it comes to LGBTIQ+ rights. In 2024, it ranked 7th in ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Europe Index.

What Luxembourg has already achieved in terms of rights:

• Homosexuality has been recognized in Luxembourg since 1974.
• Marriage for all has been legal since 2015. Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister from 2013 to 2023, became the first European Prime Minister to marry his partner in 2015.
• Joint adoption is open to all couples.
• PMA is authorized for female couples.
• The law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Notable advances that make the country a safe haven for many LGBTIQ+ expatriates.

Today, all discrimination is prohibited in Luxembourg, including on the grounds of sexual orientation, in all areas of daily life: employment, health, social security, education, access to goods and services, etc.

Luxembourg City and Esch-sur-Alzette are members of the Rainbow Cities Network, an international network of inclusive cities. Since 2021, Luxembourg City has also declared itself an LGBTIQ+ Freedom Zone.

An inclusive society and active support structures

Expatriation is often synonymous with questioning and adapting. For LGBTIQ+ people, or those close to them, it can also raise specific questions: how to live one's orientation in a new country? What are the local protections? Where can they find support?

In addition to occasional events, Luxembourg has a number of reception, listening and support structures dedicated to the LGBTIQ+ community:

CIGALE LGBTIQ+ Center

Based in Luxembourg City, this center offers :

• confidential listening sessions,
• legal and social information,
• discussion groups,
• cultural and prevention activities.

It is supported by the Ministry for the Family, and is open to anyone with questions or looking for support.

Rosa Lëtzebuerg a.s.b.l.

Rosa Lëtzebuerg, an emblematic association on the Luxembourg LGBTIQ+ scene, has been campaigning for the rights, equality and visibility of LGBTIQ+ people for over 20 years. She is also the driving force behind Pride Week.