We don’t know what the level of transmission of the virus will be or what legal measures could be taken. “Pride is a huge party, it is a moment to make our voice be heard, that brings lots of people together,” Mario Blázquez, coordinator of health programs for the LGBTQ group COGAM in Madrid, told The Associated Press.īlázquez said he’s worried that next month’s Pride celebrations could be endangered by overzealous restrictions driven in part by prejudice and in part by the fears of another public health emergency on top of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers say the city’s last pre-pandemic Pride celebration, in 2019, drew roughly 1.6 million revelers, though police put the figure at around 400,000. It is expected to draw large crowds, unlike the last two years’ events, which were scaled down or canceled because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The outbreak in Spain comes in the run-up to Madrid’s Gay Pride celebration, which will happen in early July.
