By Auston Matta
Every July Madrid hosts the largest gay pride event in all of Europe, drawing a crowd of 1.5 million people to the Spanish capital. The events officially start on the Wednesday of pride week and last until the following Sunday, with the pride parade taking place on Saturday. For 2014, the dates for Madrid Gay Pride (called “Orgullo Madrid”) are July 2nd – 6th. Spaniards travel from across the country to attend, along with international visitors and locals alike. You’ll find concerts, parties and a massive parade here – one of largest events in Spain all year. If you’re planning to take a trip to Madrid to celebrate gay pride Spanish style, check out these tips to help plan your itinerary for the week.
Parade
The parade starts at 6pm on the Saturday of pride, but don’t expect a prompt start. You’re in Spain and punctuality isn’t exactly part of the culture. You’ll probably see the first signs of the parade starting around 5:30pm, but the best part doesn’t come until much later. The parade is organized with politicians at the front and the party floats at the back. If you arrive at 5pm, you’ll be waiting several hours before there’s anything much of interest to see. The best floats are those sponsored by gay businesses, bars or clubs. These floats are fantastically decorated, with half-naked people atop enjoying the latest top 40 hits blaring from their oversized speakers. Like many pride parades in Europe, you can actually join in the parade yourself.
Pick your favorite float with the best music and follow behind along the parade route. You can find vendors along the route selling water, sodas, beer and sangria. Most of these vendors are actually selling illegally, but it’s a really common thing in Madrid and you won’t have any problems buying from them. If you plan ahead, you can even bring a backpack with some drinks of your own. Bring some water along and stay hydrated because Madrid can be very hot and dry in July. If it’s an especially hot day, packing a water gun can be a fun way to stay cool and become popular with the crowd.
Pride Park
Rather than having one central location or Pride Park to celebrate pride week, you’ll find events throughout the city center. There are multiple stages hosting concerts and performances during the evenings of pride week. The opening event always takes place in Plaza de Chueca on Wednesday, with an inaugural speech followed by performances and music until midnight. Additional stages are usually held at Plaza de Callao, Plaza del Rey and Plaza de Olivos. You’ll find open-air bars here serving up beer, sangria or tinto de verano – red wine mixed with lemon soda, served on ice. Drinking alcohol on the streets in Madrid is not normally allowed, but it is permitted during these outdoor pride events.
Pride Parties
There are more gay parties during pride week in Madrid than any other time during the year. Summer is always full of life in Madrid and pride week is no exception. The biggest parties are hosted by WE Party and you can buy discounted tickets in advance online. If you plan on attending several, consider buying a package deal which gives you discount entrance to multiple parties. One of the best parties is the daytime WE Pool Party hosted on Friday during pride week. Entrance to these parties can be expensive and the drinks aren’t cheap, but these are some of the best gay parties you’ll find the entire year.
Where to Stay
Chueca is the gay neighborhood in Madrid and would be an ideal place to stay during gay pride. But if you can’t find a decent room here during pride week, at least stay in the city center so you’re always walking distance to all the pride events. Neighborhoods like Malesana, La Latina, or Sol are good options because they’re centrally located and may have more accommodation availability than Chueca. If you’re interested in staying at a gay-friendly hotel, consider The Oscar Hotel, Hostal Puerta del Sol or Hostal La Zona. These properties are popular amongst gay travelers and the latter two can be booked for as low as 40€ per night. You need to book well in advance since these places will fill up early in the year with hundreds of thousands of people looking for rooms during pride week.
Meeting People
Madrid has a thriving nightlife scene and one of the biggest gay communities in Europe. With all the options, it can sometimes be overwhelming to figure out which are the best events and parties to attend. If you’re arriving early in the week, do your best to meet some locals before the major pride events start. They can give you tips on some of the hotspots and might even invite you to join them in the festivities. In addition to the pride parties, you can also visit some of Madrid’s best gay bars and clubs mostly located in Chueca. After
Pride
The Sunday after pride is an ideal day to visit the pool. The community pool “Piscina Municipal Casa de Campo” is packed with gays relaxing on the grass and soaking up the sun after all the pride festivities. If you want to find a good spot and avoid the line, arrive before 1pm. This might sound late enough, but realize that Spanish nightlife goes late and most people didn’t get to bed until 6am or later the previous night. Take the metro line 10 to Lago - entrance to the pool is 6€ and you can bring your own food and drink. There’s also a snack shop onsite if you don’t bring your own. Madrid is one of the best places to celebrate gay pride and you won’t be disappointed. The entire city comes out to celebrate and the atmosphere is incredibly gay friendly. Madrid is such a hotspot for gay events that they even hosted EuroPride in 2007 and will be hosting WorldPride in 2017. Planning your trip in advance will give the best accommodation options and discounts on pride parties. So if you’re looking for a Spanish holiday, there’s no better time than visiting Madrid gay pride to kick off your summer!
For more information about Madrid gay life, including the best gay bars and clubs in Madrid, you can follow Auston’s blog Two Bad Tourists. You can also follow Two Bad Tourists on Facebook or Google+.
