Goran Miletic

A Serbian Orthodox bishop has been criticised for saying the forthcoming Europe Pride event in Belgrade will "desecrate" Belgrade, and saying he wished he could take up a weapon to stop it.

For the same day, almost at the same time, a gathering of anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, anti-globalists and other organizations is announced on social networks these days, all, allegedly, under the auspices of the idea to "stand in the way of announced COVID passes", the media write.

LGBT activists in Serbia have welcomed an announcement that the government will submit to parliament a draft law on same-sex partnerships before the year is out, but remain cautious after previous promises of new legislation were broken.

Belgrade Pride Week 2018 will take place from September 10th to 16th under the slogan, "Reci da!", or "Say Yes!" in English.

This year's Pride March in Belgrade kicks off on Sunday at the city's Cvetni Trg [square], from where it will end at Republic Square with an entertainment program.

Nine organisations are reported to be participating in the march, and the organizers have announced that, for the first time ever, the Prime Minister, an open lesbian, will attend as well.

This year's Belgrade Pride, which runs from September 11 to September 17, offers a varied program, including exhibitions, film screenings and literary evenings at various locations throughout the city.

The BBC has published an article headlined, "Homophobia in Serbia: 'I was abused for being gay'."

It looks into whether homophobic attitudes in Serbia have changed since Ana Brnabic became PM.

Three Serbian LGBT organisations will hold a Pride Parade on June 24, breaking away from the traditional Belgrade Pride held in September, which they claim is not focusing enough on the needs of the community.

Organizers of the Belgrade's Pride Parade 2015 said they were satisfied with the "atmosphere" ahead of the gay march scheduled at noon on Sunday and they believe the event will be peaceful although Pride Parade has a turbulent history in Serbia.

This year's Belgrade Pride Week will start on September 14 while the main Pride march will be September 20, the organizers announced on Thursday.

Goran Miletic, one of the organizers, said that they expected few obstacles in organizing this year's event, but added that public opinion towards same-sex relations was slow to change in Serbia.