Arraial Lisbon Pride – Proudly Portugal was there!

From Portugal with Love

Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, welcomes a constant stream of conventions, festivals and other events, and is home for the biggest annual pride event – the Arraial Lisboa Pride!

This year Proudly Portugal was there talking to several people to understand what they think about Portugal, in terms of LGBTI+ friendliness and LGBTI+ rights.

We found the loveliest people during the event and throughout the article, we’ll cover some thoughts they shared with us! Take the case of Eikel, who just moved to Portugal and, in the few months he’s been here, he perceives the country as a very progressive one.

We invite you to celebrate Pride!

Praça do Comércio is the main city square with 3.5 hectares on the shores of the Tagus river where it widens to form Lisbon’s harbour. Here, the annual Arraial Lisboa Pride village and concert hosted 60,000 people in 2019. In 2018, it simultaneously hosted Arraial Lisboa Pride and World Cup football viewings.

The largest annual LGBTI+ Pride event in Portugal is integrated with the Festas de Lisboa municipal festival and the party takes place on Lisbon’s main square. From live performances, DJs and a Pride village, including stands for NGOs and LGBTI+ businesses, it draws around 70,000 attendees each year. During the interviews, Raquel and Sofia commented on how they really feel at ease in Portugal, especially at Arraial Lisbon Pride.

Safety is key when travelling abroad

One of the topics that keep coming up when discussing Portugal is how safe the country is and how welcoming the people feel. “It’s good to be back, I feel so secure in Portugal. Everyone is so kind and I’m so happy to return to this beautiful country” were the words of Corrina, who we found walking past the Arraial Lisbon Pride.

In fact, recently, Gay Times Magazine shared an interesting article about the safest (and most dangerous) countries for LGBTI+ people to visit. Portugal was ranked second, following Norway that was placed first.

A new study produced by travel website Asher & Lyric has created the LGBTI+ Danger Index; a ranking of the 150 countries with the most international tourists based on their safety for LGBTI+ people.

The study looked at eight factors including same-sex marriage rights, worker protections, discrimination protections, criminalisation of violence, adoption recognition, illegal same-sex relationships and propaganda/morality laws.

Lisbon is booming with events

Are you an entrepreneur, or work in a tech company?

The city hosts the annual Web Summit, one of the major gatherings of renowned business people and companies. The event attracts as many as 70,000 people to the city each year since its move from Dublin in 2016.

Are you a music addict?

In 2018, Lisbon was known for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, receiving more than 50,000 attendees from abroad. But the music scene is booming and annual music festivals like NOS Alive, Super Bock Super Rock, EDP Cool Jazz attract international headliners and their thousands of fans every summer.

Portugal. Travel to Feel.

Don’t forget, the best way to travel is to feel! 

Open your heart and be prepared to be surprised with wondrous Portugal, a place where you will feel connected and comfortable to be who you want to be. Get to know the Proudly Portugal mission!