Organisers of this year’s LGBTIQ Pride march in Kaunas expect up to 5,000 participants to attend the event in September, roughly double the turnout of the city’s first Pride parade held four years ago.
Kaunas city authorities issued a permit for the gathering in late April, effectively authorising the September 12 march along the city’s central pedestrian avenue, Laisvės Alėja. The application was submitted by the association Viskas Visiems.
According to the municipality, the route will begin at Nepriklausomybės Square near St Michael the Archangel Church and continue along most of Laisvės Alėja to building No 99.
After turning around, participants will return along the opposite side of the avenue to Nepriklausomybės Square, where a public gathering is planned.
The first march, branded as Kaunas Pride, took place in September 2021 and drew around 2,000 participants. The municipality approved the event only shortly before it began, after being ordered to do so by a court.
Police detained 22 people following the march and issued 16 administrative citations for offenses including public drinking, disturbing public order and failing to comply with police instructions.
Authorities also launched four pretrial investigations into alleged public order violations and one investigation into incitement of hatred.
This year’s march comes as Lithuania continues to fall in the so-called Rainbow Map ranking compiled by NGO ILGA-Europe.
Lithuania dropped one place in the organisation’s 2026 ranking of LGBTIQ rights protections, placing 37th out of 49 European countries.
Spain, Malta and Belgium ranked highest, while Turkey, Azerbaijan and Russia placed at the bottom of the list.
Lithuania ranked 32nd in the Rainbow Map in 2020.
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