Lisbon Arraial Pride 2010, the biggest Gay & Lesbian event in Portugal (LGBT)

Lisbon Pride information

Arraial Pride has been, since its start in 1997, the biggest and most nationwide participated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) event in Portugal. Arraial Brides, Queer games, a welcome center, Gay Village and Expo Arraial.

Gay Pride Lisbon June 2010 Praca do Comercio

Famous Palace Square Praça do Comércio  (Terreiro do Paço) Lisbon, June 26, 2010

A free-access fesitivity with diverse events, activities, music performances, (video), happenings, delicious food and bars.

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Feijão Preto – restaurant in Lisbon

Following in the footsteps of five other European countries — Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and intensely Catholic Spain — Portugal recently legalized gay marriage (January 2010). Two Portuguese women, Teresa Pires and Helena Paixão, were the first couple to wed in Lisbon.

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Labyrinto Lisbon, Gay cruising club

More than 20 party tents filled the enclosure and defined the space for public performances. About 25 bars, restaurants and terraces offered a wide range of catering services to its customers and visitors.

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Website Lisbon Arraial Pride 

Arraial Pride is a free party open to all people, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity, that see themselves as a part of a more democratic and non-discriminating Portugal; an ‘open mind night’ with no homophoby, in the heart of a Lisbon free of prejudices and willingly to integrate and respect all kinds of people and recognizing their rights and full citizenship.

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Finalmente

This popular gay nightclub in the Bairro Alto, caters to the late night. Finalmente (video) opens at 1am.  Drag performances on the small stage and dance until dawn

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Designed to please a veried audience, the Arrial Pride festivities started at noon and ended at dawn, after a party set list with the best dance music in charge of well-known DJ’s, like Lara Soft, Nuno Galopim and Rui Murka.

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A celebration of diversity, alike what happens in the main European capital cities and which could also put Lisbon along with the other destinations in the LGBT travel routes.

Gay Pride Lisbon queer Lisboa

Queer Lisboa is, for the first time, present at the Arraial Pride. Lisbon’s Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is in this way associated with Lisbon’s oldest LGBT party. The profits from the Queer Lisboa Bar will revert to the Festival’s film programme

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The Memorial Bar in Bairro Alto is also a well-known entertainment center for the gay and lesbian community of Lisbon. Women patrons outnumber the men here. The bar features a wide variety of live entertainment acts twice a week – including comedy, cross-dressing, or live Portuguese musicians.

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The beautiful welcome center’s entrance of the Pride Festival, available for all information concerning the event like maps, accreditation, registration for games and activities, the program, a bar, exhibitions and a store.

Associação Ilga Portugal          Facebook
Rua de São Lázaro, 88
1150-333 Lisboa – Portugal
Phone: [351] 218 873 918

Portugal’s most popular gay beach: Beach 19 Costa da Caparica & how to get there

Brief introduction to gay bars in Bairro Alto Lisbon & Gay Clubs and Parties

Bairro Alto is a fantastic old neighbourhood in the center of the city. One of the oldest parts of town. Literally, Bairro Alto means ‘High neighbourhood’, as it is on top of one of the seven hills of Lisbon. It is a maze of narrow streets streets filled with old fashion and charming grocery stores during the day, but at night, bars suddenly appear everywhere from behind the shutter doors.

Bairro Alto_Lisbon_gay_neighbourhood

Since the eighties Bairro Alto has become ‘the place to be’ when it comes to nightlife. When the locals go out and say they go ‘ao Bairro’ (‘to the neighbourhood’) they can only mean Bairro Alto. Don’t expect big clubs though, you will find these in other parts of the city.

Journalists

Bairro Alto was well known as the center of journalism in Portugal, all the main newspapers had their offices in the neighbourhood. And journalists need bars to get inspiration, and well, one thing let to another. The neigbourhood now attracts people from all walks of life even with the publishers all long and gone.

The Portugese tend to go out very late. They’ll leave the house at about midnight and start the night of easy with a drink in one of the bars, and when it’s warm out they prefer the streets. In summertime it is hard to move in Bairro Alto, all the little streets are crowded with people. The first days you will think a local holiday is being celebrated, but it’s just normal summer madness. Most places in Bairro Alto close at 02:00. For people heading for the nightlife, Bairro Alto is a pleasant warming-up.

Picture: Rene van Gijn

Gay bars

Now that you know something about Bairro Alto it’s time to get down to business: Where can you go and meet new friends? The Portuguese are not so open about their sexual preferences and the few people that are ‘out’ you’ll probably find in Bairro Alto. But don’t worry, the neighbourhood is very famous across the globe and you are sure to meet many nice guys when you hit the streets.

Bairro Alto has about 50 different bars and small clubs and the majority of the places is not gay, but most of them are ‘gay-friendly’. Cruising however is not recommended. Gay Clubs and Parties in Lisbon .

Beach 19, Portugal’s most famous and popular gay beach & how to get there

Portas Largas

The best place to start of is Portas Largas as it opens early (at about five already), it’s in the heart of Bairro Alto on Rua da Atalaia. The bar is very international and you’ll most likely be served by some cute muscly Brazilian guys that already work there for years. The owner of Portas Largas has his own hotel round the corner of the bar ‘Anjo Azul’ where you will be very welcome as well.

In Portas Largas you can drink caipirinha’s (they’re quite good) and jars of Sangria. From early on the place attracts an international crowd.

Fragil

This is a small but very cool club facing the entrance of Portas Largas. Famous for it’s enormous influence on Portugese club life and music. Many famous Dj’s have played here.

The audience is 90% gay on most nights, the door policy is friendly but not everybody is allowed in.

Fragil_club_gay_lisbon_Bairro Alto