Ibiza was one of the first European countries to actively welcome the gay tourism industry in the Franco dictatorship of the 1960’s and continues to rank in the top tier of the Worlds Gay destination resorts, as many young people still consider it a gay island. One of the first openly gay clubs in Europe, The Anfora, sadly closed its doors in 2016 after a half century in business and the gay scene in Ibiza, like many other scenes, has changed greatly since.
The Queens have gone from Pacha and its a lot more commercial these days with La Troya founded by the legendary KU promoter, Brasilio de Oliveira, being one of the longest running and established gay parties on the island. He was also responsible for starting the notorious street parades held to promote his parties, which started at the old Montesol Hotel and worked their way up the Marina via the famous narrow and cobbled gay street, Calle de Virgin.
In 2015 Ibiza Gay Pride took over the mantle of promoting the Gay scene in Ibiza and supported by the local tourism board, organised the first Ibiza Gay Pride Festival which last year saw events held at Ushuaia and Privilege. This year the festival will take place from Wednesday June 13 to Saturday June 16 and the local tourism board has just released the above video to promote it. So get your glad rags on and join the fiesta for what promises to be a colourful and extravagant affair. To love Ibiza, you have to be a little gay inside.
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