Reykjavik Pride (previously known as Reykjavik Gay Pride) started on 3 August with a drag show at Kiki Queer Bar. The highlight of the festival will take place on Saturday with the Reykjavik Pride Parade from 2 to 3 pm. The program has been growing every year it seems and today (Friday) there is a Queer Art Market at Iðnó from 12 to 4 pm followed by A date with the past at the same venue at 5 pm, which is an event aimed at older queer people (50+) but everyone is welcome. Tomorrow after the Pride Parade, an outdoor concert will take place in Hljómskálagarður by Tjörnin (Reykjavik Pond) downtown, with “music, speeches and powerful performances” as they put it on the Reykjavik Pride website. You can find the full program here.
Reykjavik Pride has taken place annually since 1999 but the first Pride Parade was organised a year later. The history can be traced back further, to 1993 when Icelandic gays and lesbians first gathered downtown Reykjavik to demand freedom and human rights. A year later, the protest was repeated. The first Pride Parade was visited by around 1500 onlookers but has gradually evolved into the over a week long celebration that it is today that attracts over 100 thousand visitors from around the world.
As in previous years, music has been a big part of the celebrations, and you can find e.g. this playlist on Spotify attributed to Reykjavik Pride (Hinsegin dagar in Icelandic).
