Fiona Govan
Thousands of people crowded into the streets of the capital to join in gay pride celebrations on Saturday in the biggest public event held in Spain since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
After a week of celebrations that were more muted than the usual events, streets within the Chueca district on Saturday night became the focus for the party.
A parade was held on Saturday evening which did not feature the usual floats and had a limited attendance of 25,000 where masks were worn and for the most part social distancing observed.
But in true Madrileño style the party then continued in the streets and squares around Chueca and Malasaña long into the night.
Images published on social media and broadcast on Spanish media outlets showed little sign of COVID restrictions being followed as crowds danced and drank in the streets.
Many people were not wearing masks and social distancing was hard to maintain with the crowds.
“It feels like normal pre-Covid times,” one Chueca resident told the Olive Press. “But it’s crazy really, like everyone has forgotten that we are still in the grip of a pandemic.”
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