Munster v Manchester: Clare and Limerick in running to host EuroPride festival in 2028

A Pride Parade in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2023. This year’s EuroPride will be hosted by Lisbon, Portugal, and will take place over nine days this June. File photo/Sakchai Lalit

Clare and Limerick have been shortlisted to host EuroPride 2028, competing against Manchester.

Two bids have been confirmed to be in the running to host the 2028 edition of EuroPride, Europe’s most significant LGBT+ event. Manchester Pride will compete with A joint ‘West of Ireland’ bid from Limerick Pride, QuareClare and The Outing Festival.

If they are successful, Ireland would play host to the international event for the first time. EuroPride attracts more than 100,000 from around the world, and is hosted in a different European city each year.

Over the last few years, it has been hosted in London, Thessaloniki, Cologne, Warsaw, Rome, Oslo, Madrid, and Zurich.

Spokesperson for the EuroPride Ireland 2028 bid, Eddie McGuinness, said: “This presents a unique chance for the LGBTQIA+ community to experience Ireland’s rich culture and spirit.

“Hosting EuroPride 2028 would be a historic milestone, celebrating love, diversity, and acceptance against the stunning backdrop of the Wild Atlantic Way. This event would highlight the island of Ireland’s welcoming nature and extend ‘Pride in Our Community’. 

Let’s create a momentous festival together. Céad Míle Fáilte to all international visitors! 

Patrick Orth, president of the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) which licenses EuroPride, said the “high velocity of political change across Europe makes the event even more important for our community”.

“The political shifts in the UK and Ireland are no less profound and so it is exciting to have bids from both countries to centre their LGBTQIA+ communities in European consciousness,” he said.

Both teams now have some time to finalise their bids before they are published in August and reviewed by EPOA’s member Prides, each having one vote. The bids will be presented at the EPOA annual conference in Barcelona in October, with the winner expected to be announced on Saturday, October 11.

This year’s EuroPride will be hosted by Lisbon, Portugal, and will take place over nine days this June.