LGBT Activists March with Politicians for Belgrade Pride

The third Belgrade Pride Parade, which took place under the slogan "Love changes the world", was held on Sunday with several hundred LGBT rights supporters, alongside Serbian politicians, participating in the march through the centre of the Serbian capital.

The group was protected by some 5,000 police officers who had the city centre in lockdown to ensure participants' safety.

The gay rights supporters marched behind a truck decorated with balloons and blasting music, waving rainbow flags and carrying banners bearing not only the official slogan of the event, but also those in support of refugees, including "Solidarity with refugees" and "No borders no fences".

Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic, and 'godmother' of this year's Pride Parade, officially opened the event, congratulating all those who gathered for the march, telling those present that she believes it is important for everyone to find a way to overcome fear, referring to the fact that LGBT rights have not become normalized in Serbian society and violence against LGBT people still occurs.

"Human life is precious and the right to live it freely is inviolable," Karanovic said.

Alongside a strong police presence, armoured vehicles were also deployed and a police helicopter circled above the parade to deter potential violence, but no incidents were reported.

Numerous politicians and diplomats were spotted at the event, including Ana Brnabic, the Serbian Minister for Administration and Local Government, who is also the first openly gay minister in the country.

Belgrade's mayor Sinisa Mali also joined the parade, alongside Bojan Pajtic, leader of the Democratic Party, DS, and Cedomir Jovanovic, President of the Liberal Democratic Party, LDP.

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