The Baltic Pride 2021 festival for promotional purposes has been declared the largest human rights event in the Baltics, as the liberal portal TVNET is the festival's informational sponsor, but in reality, the scale and impact of the event are greatly exaggerated, and the comparison with the song festival is completely out of place.
Firstly, various epidemiological restrictions remain in place, and it is still unknown whether there will be a pride march, which is a central event at similar sex festivals. Secondly, in the case of Latvia, this event has almost nothing to do with sex, entertainment or culture. It is a socio-political struggle for influence by one relatively small group of society. And this process must be overseen by the conservative majority to prevent the division of society and the endowment of the LGBT community with discriminatory privileges over the heterosexual majority of society.
As for the Baltic Pride 2021 sex festival itself, it will take place during the week of August 2-7. And there is no reason yet for the conservative people to worry that the song festival is taking place remotely this year, but the participants of the sex festival will be able to hold such a mass event in person. The exact program of the event has not yet been announced. Neatkarīgā contacted the main organizer of the festival, Kaspars Zālītis, and he confirmed that the organizers themselves are not yet clear about holding the events in person, but it is already known that most of the events of the program will take place online. In addition, despite the fact that the festival bears the Baltic name and is announced mainly to the English-speaking audience, this year it will be focused on the local audience. Due to changing epidemiological restrictions, there is little clarity about travel options after a month. So no foreign sex unicorns will arrive in droves. Currently, events are allowed indoors for up to 300 people, outdoors - for up to 500 people.
Kaspars Zālītis explains that the organizers of the event are also counting on these numbers, and it cannot be considered a big gathering. For comparison, almost 38 thousand participants took part in the previous student song festival. The political sex festival against the background of such a number will be just such a small party, if this partying will take place in person at all. For the time being, the Riga City Council has not received approval requests for specific events. Applications for rallies, processions and pickets can be submitted even the previous day, only then there is no guarantee that the council will be able to look through them. The usual procedure is to apply at least 10 days in advance, and then the State Police also has time to assess whether any additional security measures are needed, or the organizers should be asked to provide security, or perhaps the event should be banned completely. This is not a threat to the organizers of the sex festival, as LGBT organizations traditionally receive a lot of support from political parties and power structures, as well as from the private sector. This year, the festival has received funding even from the largest foreign commercial bank in Latvia, Swedbank. The bank hoisted the rainbow flag and wrote in its statement "to a more diverse and inclusive future". However, there is no doubt that there are quite rational reasons for such actions by the bank. LGBT is an influential and rich community. This was once explained by one of the most influential Latvian representatives of the community, Kārlis Streips. Gays do not have children, but they do have enough money. Accordingly, it is beneficial for companies to focus on serving gay people, as their needs are more financially intensive and their desires more expensive.
But it is not just private companies and banks that support LGBT organizations. The Latvian state also does this from taxpayers' money. Just now Culture Capital Foundation has allocated 3,000 euros to the Center for Contemporary Art in the project “Identity and Community Building. A series of events in Baltic Pride Week”. The need for money and the project itself is justified by the fact that the majority of society treats the LGBT community badly. For example: "Conservative politicians and opinion leaders have openly promoted public intolerance of the LGBTQ+ community and the role of women in the family and society during these discussions." Discussions and works of art will be organized for the money received. Last year, the Culture Capital Foundation also funded a similar event - the crossdressing festival for homosexual women Baltic Drag King. The Ministry of Culture and the Society Integration Foundation have also supported the creation of a special website LGBT House Riga from the state budget. And the central organization for the community, Mozaīka, has also received public funding for its daily work. This shows that the LGBT community in Latvia already enjoys respect, reverence and taxpayers' money. There is no reason to lament how their human rights have been hurt because Latvian society is already inclusive and sensitive to minorities.