EuroPride 2011 in Rome |
Europe's biggest Gay Pride event – EuroPride – came to Rome yesterday. Italy is sadly one of the few EU Member States which refuses to recognise civil partnerships for same-sex couples and has no law against homophobia; the sight of a million of us marching, singing and dancing our way through the city centre, past the Colosseum, on our way to the ancient Roman arena of Circus Maximus, where the closing concert and rally was headlined by none other than vociferous gay rights campaigner Lady Gaga, must surely have given pause for thought amongst the ranks of Italy's homophobic politicians.
Dressed in vintage Gianna Versace, Lady Gaga gave a long and impassioned speech that demanded equal rights now and the defense of love before sitting at the piano and wowing the packed arena with spine tingling acoustic versions of her anthem to diversity Born This Way, followed by The Edge of Glory. Whilst television news reports usually give Gay Pride as little coverage as possible in Italy, this year the presence of a global superstar guaranteed live coverage on some channels and the focus of the entire world – thank you Lady Gaga!
"...for the fifteen-year-old, who struggles with their identity, who and what will they have to look up to? Where is their wedding day? Where does the dream of their potential end and can it have no limits? Rome, how can we transform the oppression of the past into the liberation of the future? Let us give birth to a new and international ideology, let us come together and synthesize our histories into today. Let us be revolutionaries of love and use our human powers, our very strong human powers, to save lives and encourage unity around the world."
Lady Gaga's closing words at EuroPride 2011
Watch the final minutes of Lady Gaga's speech at Roma EuroPride 2011 below or click here to watch on YouTube.
Watch Lady Gaga performing live at Roma EuroPride 2011 below or click here to watch on YouTube.
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