Hanoi Pride 2018 features numerous cultural events and culminates in the annual walking parade. The parade was originally scheduled for September 23, but will now take place on October 6.
Hanoi Pride 2018, which began on Monday, September 17, has included art exhibitions at Heritage Space and Creative Lab, workshops on art therapy and LGBTQ+ first love story sharing.
Friday night saw a performance by Hanoi’s much-loved drag queens at Mojito Bar, while workshops and a talk show were featured on Saturday at BisHUB Co-working space.
For many, the highlight of the event will be a bike rally followed shortly after by a walking parade, which will now take place on October 6. The cycling event runs from 1:30pm until 4pm, with the meeting point on Nam Cao Street. The pride march begins outside the American Club at 4pm, and continues until around 5:30pm. There will also be a pride festival at the American Club from 2pm until 9:30pm, which will include live performances.
This week marks the seventh annual pride week in Hanoi. The first-ever pride event in the capital took place at the Goethe Institute in 2012, and included film screenings and a cycle parade.
LGBT rights continue to be an important issue in Vietnam. The country was recently heralded as one of the most progressive nations in Southeast Asia following the repeal of its once-heteronormative definition of marriage, though some activists refute this claim.
Research by Vietnam’s Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE), for example, found that, after surveying 3,000 gay, lesbian and transgender people in Vietnam, 20% of respondents said they had been beaten by family members after coming out.
All the details of the week’s events can be found on the official Facebook page for the event, or on the page of local nonprofit iSee, who are prominent supporters of Hanoi Pride.
[Photo via Pose]
