- The event will take place between June 16 and 29, thus extending the program days compared to previous editions.
- After two years of restrictions due to the pandemic, this protest event adds new features and resumes established proposals such as concerts in the Arenal of Bilbao or the parade of boats along the estuary.
- The musical section will feature a performance by Soraya.
- Basque language and culture take center stage as a tool for raising awareness in support of LGBTI+ rights.
Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO will unfurl its rainbow flag between June 16th and 29th. Once again, around LGBTI+ Pride Day on June 28th, Bilbao will host a full program of cultural and festive activities celebrating sexual and gender diversity. The event has been scaled back for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year it returns to its usual format. And it’s back stronger than ever: Lekeitio, Plentzia, and Santurtzi are joining the initiative with their own programs of activities.
Thus, established events such as the Arenal concerts or the Ur Parade – the boat parade along the estuary – are returning, along with many other activities that could not be held in the previous two years.
It is important to highlight that, despite the complicated context of the health emergency we have experienced, Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO has not been canceled. In 2020 and 2021, a smaller program was designed to adapt to the situation. But we took to the streets. And the reality we are living through shows that today it remains essential to raise our voices in support of the rights of LGBTI+ people.
A RAINBOW THAT GETS STRONGER
Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO is growing and becoming bigger and bigger. This is thanks to all the people, social agents, institutions, and companies who want to be an active part of building an equal, free, and diverse society. Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO is an initiative organized by the Ortzadar LGBT Elkartea association and has the support of the Bizkaia Provincial Council, the Bilbao City Council, and BasqueTour. This year, the city councils of Lekeitio, Plentzia, and Santurtzi have also joined. Likewise, we have EITB as the official media partner and La Salve Beer as the official beer.
The program will take place in Bilbao from June 16th to 19th. Arenal, Casco Viejo (Old Town), Gran Vía, and the Pío Baroja dock, the starting point for the Ur Parade (Urban Parade), will be the main venues for the activities. On June 24th and 25th, Lekeitio, Plentzia, and Santurtzi will take to the streets, filling their town centers with music, entertainment, and activism. On June 29th, HARRO SCIENCE, a day organized by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), will explore the LGBTI+ reality from various academic perspectives.
6 THEMATIC AREAS, 6 VALUES.
As in previous editions, Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO features a program divided into six major thematic blocks that combine culture, fun and advocacy, and that bring together proposals for all ages:
-HARROmusic. Music as an element of UNITY and VISIBILITY.
It encompasses all the musical offerings in the program. Among other things, this year we’ll have a concert by the singer Soraya, which will take place on Saturday the 18th. Don’t miss out on dancing!
-HARROfun Fun and leisure: spaces to SHARE and celebrate diversity.
It’s time to celebrate diversity and the achievements we’ve made. HARRO Fun brings together a variety of festive activities, including the legendary Ur Parade—the boat parade along the estuary—on Saturday, June 18th; the Drag Gala (Friday, June 17th); and the human LGBTQ+ flag we’ll form once again on Gran Vía (Sunday, June 19th). Show your colors!
-HARROculture. Culture and historical memory as vehicles for REVISION.
The screening of short films that address the reality of LGBTI+ people, and the guided tours to learn about the history of the community in Bilbao and Bizkaia, are an excellent proposal within the program.
-HARRObasque. Basque language and culture: DISTINCT IDENTITY and a tool for transformation.
The bertso sessions, the herri kirolak and the txakoli tasting are the main features of this section of the program.
-HARROkids. Values education through play: for diversity and against LGBTI-phobia.
It is essential that new generations grow up building an inclusive and free society. Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO’s program includes fun children’s games that address diversity.
-HARROscience. Research at the service of the public
The Bidebarrieta library will host this day of presentations, which has been launched in conjunction with the Chair of Scientific Culture and the Directorate of Equality of the UPV/EHU, and which will address aspects of diversity and the LGBTI+ reality from different perspectives of knowledge.
To participate in some of the program’s activities, prior registration will be required. Information on how interested individuals can register will be announced in the coming days.
MORE AND MORE ALLIANCES
We are growing. We are becoming stronger. We have more and more alliances. This is reflected in the fact that our rainbow is spreading across the map. This year, Lekeitio, Plentzia, and Santurtzi are joining this initiative. The town councils of these municipalities are part of this group of organizations that believe in diversity as an essential value in building a free and inclusive society.
To them, all our gratitude, as well as to each and every one of the 32 entities and companies that have contributed to making Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO not only possible, but also an increasingly powerful initiative: Metro Bilbao, Berdindu, Ertzaintza, Euskaltzandia, Alzola, BBK, Euskal Trenbide Sarea (ETS), BilbaoPort, Palacio Euskalduna, Athletic Fundazioa, Melia Bilbao, Juntas Generales de Bizkaia, BasqueTeam, UPV/EHU, Donostia International Physics Center, Museo de Reproducciones de Bilbao, EuskoTren, Itsasmendi, Bilbao Historiko and the San Francisco merchants association,
And the fact is, we need to pull together. It remains essential. The data is clear. For example, Berdindu, the Basque Government’s information and support service for issues related to sexual diversity, handled a total of 34 reports of LGBTI-phobia in the Basque Country in 2021. And day after day, the headlines demonstrate that intolerance and discrimination are still present, painful, and it is urgent to combat them by celebrating diversity. WE INSIST: WE WILL NEVER STOP DEMANDING OUR RIGHTS. WE WILL NEVER STOP DANCING. NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE LIKES.
Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO: Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO held its first edition in 2015, around June 28th, Pride Day. It was born with a clear mission: to celebrate sexual and gender diversity, and the freedom of LGBTI+ people through culture and fun. 2019 was a key year for Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO, which opted for a more ambitious and powerful format, projecting itself globally and becoming one of the most important events of its kind in Spain. Over time, Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO has grown and forged alliances, and today it is a union of individuals, companies, organizations, and institutions with a common goal: to champion the right to be and to love. The global Covid-19 pandemic forced Bilbao Bizkaia HARRO to be held in a much smaller format, adapted to the health emergency. Now, in 2022, it returns to its original format and is back stronger than ever.
