As Saturday’s march went ahead in light drizzle, riot police held back dozens of far-right extremists who had gathered to shout abusive slogans. But the abuse and moist conditions did not dampen the party atmosphere, as marchers danced to music played from loudspeakers mounted on vans.

The BBC reports on the inaugural Pride march and five-day festival, which took place despite claims from Deputy Chancellor Petr Hajek that Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda should not support “deviant fellow citizens.” Conservative president Vaclav Klaus backed his aide, but 13 countries, including the United States, issued a statement in support of the celebration.







The BBC reports that Some 300 police officers worked the scene to prevent the kind of clashes between participants and counterprotesters that occurred at a Pride march in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic, in 2008.

The march was to culminate in a series of concerts on an island in the Vltava river, as part of a five-day festival comprising some 80 events — concerts, films, seminars, exhibitions and parties — in 30 venues around the capital.

More photos online at  BLESK