Split Pride 2026

Split Pride is Croatia's second Pride march after Zagreb, and its history is still well remembered in the city. At the first march around three hundred people took to the streets. They were met by roughly ten thousand counter-protesters who threw stones, bottles, cans and tear gas. Several activists and reporters suffered minor injuries, police arrested hundreds of attackers, and the march had to be called off. Afterwards the police were criticised for failing to protect the participants.

The following year marked a turning point. About seven hundred people marched under heavy police protection, several government ministers and the then president backed the event, and it passed without violence. Soon after, the mayor of Split became the first Croatian mayor to join a Pride march. Since then the marches have been peaceful, and the current mayor has also spoken in support of them.

The first march was organised by the Zagreb groups Kontra and Iskorak together with the feminist organisation Domine. Later the Split association Rišpet took over; it has since been dissolved. Today the LGBT Centar Split runs Pride. What began as a single march day has grown into a Pride month in June with drag nights, workshops, talks on PrEP and PEP, exhibitions and film screenings. It ends with the march itself, which starts and finishes in Đardin park, followed by a concert and an after-party.

The focus has shifted over time, away from visibility alone and towards street violence, schools and education, and the gap between the law and daily life. In Croatia same-sex couples can enter a life partnership that is equal to marriage in many areas. Marriage itself is reserved for a man and a woman by the constitution.