Belgrade mayor Sapic refuses invitation to open Europride

TANJUG/ STRAHINJA ACIMOVIC

Belgrade’s new Mayor Aleksandar Sapic refused an invitation to open the Europride event by raising a flag over city hall.

Sapic said he would be opening the Family Days event next May which will be organized under the auspices of the city authorities. “Am I happy about this is not important now. What is important is to show that we are a city open to everyone and I hope everything will be in order,” he said adding that Belgrade will be host to all of Europe for Europride but that his deputy Vesna Vidovic will be involved instead of him.

“It (Belgrade) is free as it always has been and open to people of all nations, religions, sexual orinetation but I will not be at its head,” Sapic said responding to the invitation from Europride 2022 coordinator Goran Miletic. “The normal thing is for the mayor to attend but we haven’t talked to him yet. The minimum we expect is for the mayor to open it and raise the main flag over city hall to welcome participants. We will ask him to do that,” Miletic told the Beta news agency.

Miletic said invitations were extended to high-ranking state officials, adding that the outgoing government has been open to the requests of the event organizers. The Serbian government is headed by the country’s first openly gay Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.