A gay parade in an eastern German city was overshadowed by protests by the far right right. In the end, however, there were no serious accidents, reported DPA, quoted by BTA, referring to the police.
Over 1,000 people took part in the second edition of the pride parade in Bautzen, in the eastern German state of Saxony, yesterday - much more than the organizers had expected. 680 people participated in a counter-demonstration under the motto "Against gender propaganda and identity confusion".
"There were no major disturbances or attacks,", a spokeswoman for the local police summed up. She commented that the police strategy of separating the two groups had worked. According to initial data, no people have been detained, the spokeswoman said, but made the reservation that a more detailed assessment is yet to be made.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people participating in the Prague Pride Festival passed through the streets of the Czech capital, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Organizers estimate the number of people gathered for the country's largest LGBT community event at around 60,000, Czech news agency CTK reported. Several Czech politicians and foreign diplomats took part in the event.
A police spokesman said that for security reasons, the parade was guarded by more police this time than in previous years, after a warning was issued in July about the risk of terrorist attacks at a similar event in the capital of neighboring Slovakia, Bratislava .
In Prague, as in Bratislava, there were no serious incidents, except for minor disturbances of order caused by some passers-by shouting along the parade route.
The week-long festival, which began on Monday, continues tonight with a concert program in Letna Park, located on a hill above the center of the Czech capital, and ends with smaller cultural events tomorrow.
The whole pride festival goes under the motto "Family". According to the organizers, the goal is to show that along with traditional heterosexual relationships, people with different sexual orientations can also create a family.