Hotels around Luleå
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About Lulea
Luleå Pride is the largest queer event in Norrbotten, Sweden's northernmost county. It is organised by RFSL Luleå och norra Norrbottens län, the local branch of the Swedish federation for LGBTQI rights. For many years the festival took place in June; it has since moved to August. It runs for a full week, with the main focus on Friday and Saturday.
The heart of the festival is Stadsparken, the park in the city centre. RFSL and a long list of partners set up tents there, among them Luleå University of Technology, Region Norrbotten, the Church of Sweden, trade unions, political parties, RFSU, the trans organisation Transammans and several food trucks. RFSL also runs a hangout tent where people can simply sit down and talk. On Saturday the Pride parade winds through central Luleå, and many of the partner organisations march with their own groups.
Events spread out across the city. Films are screened at the Folkets Bio Royal cinema, Kulturcentrum Ebeneser hosts talks and testing services, and the youth centre Navet has its own programme for people aged 13 to 25. The schedule also includes panel debates, workshops, drag shows, club nights, a music quiz, a silent disco in the park and a service in the cathedral. The festival is run in cooperation with the adult education association ABF Norr.
The organisers see Pride as a political project. According to them, Luleå ranked near the bottom of RFSL's index of LGBTQ-friendly municipalities before the first festival and the founding of the local branch; today it sits in the top ten. Since then more Prides have appeared across the county, including a spring Pride in nearby Boden and festivals in Gällivare, Kiruna and Överkalix, all with RFSL Luleå involved.
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