Jul 30, 2026

Prague Pride Strengthens Security Measures Following Berlin Attack

Prague Morning

Security will be tightened at this year’s Prague Pride festival following a deadly attack at a similar event in Berlin.

Czech police are preparing additional measures to protect participants in the week-long festival, which begins Monday.

The measures will also reflect changes to this year’s festival route and venue.

Prague Pride is moving its main festival area from Letná Plain to Štvanice Island. The traditional Saturday parade will also follow a new route, starting in the lower section of Wenceslas Square, continuing through the historic center and ending at Štvanice.

Organizers will begin the parade with a minute of silence on Wenceslas Square to remember the person killed in the Berlin attack.

“Thousands of people standing in silence will be a reminder that we will definitely not remain silent about violence motivated by prejudice,” Prague Pride director Kamila Fröhlichová said.

This year’s Prague Pride will feature more than 100 cultural, educational and social events. Dozens of associations, institutions, companies and individuals will organize programs at venues across the capital.

While many events will focus on the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ people, the festival will also address wider questions surrounding human rights and civil society. A full program is available on the Prague Pride website.

Prague Pride was first held in August 2011. Its inaugural edition was met with strong opposition from conservative groups and politicians, who described the parade as obscene and accused its organizers of promoting what they called an “ideology of homosexuality.”

Then-President Václav Klaus was among the most prominent critics, arguing that society needed to oppose what he described as the spread of homosexuality.

Protests continued in subsequent years but gradually declined in size and intensity.