In 2019, Foreningen for By og Bygd had its debut concert just a stone ‘s throw from the Pride Park, but this year this queer band concept is coming to our Pride Park to create a Friday atmosphere! So what can you expect at this concert? Here comes five cheerful band members who play queer songs in Nynorsk in the genres Country and Western. The band name they have stolen from the former gay organization in Norway, and the joy was great when Kim Friele herself  appeared at their debut concert!

 Foreningen for By og Bygd: Jens Kihl, vocals – Helene Nilsen, guitar and vocals – Endre Aasebø, guitar – May Frida Bosch, drums – Kars Korff Lofthus, double bass.

Monika Engeseth is a producer and singer-songwriter who originally comes from Hallingdal and was quickly signed to Made Management. In recent years, however, she moved to Bergen where she has experimented with a soundscape of electronic pop, inspired by great emotions and contrasts. Suggesting drum rhythms meet a wall of analog synths in a melodic and epic soundscape. At the center of it all is Moyka’s clear and strong vocals.

Melancholic texts are intertwined in a sound that balances on the border between the organic and the electronic, creating a unique and magnificent universe. Her debut EP “Circles” was earned a 6/6 in Bergens Tidende.

On stage, she performs with a solid crew, two on keys, and drummer, who together create the powerful music in a very convincing way. Over and over she has convinced audiences and organizers as well as the reviewers. From “Vill Vill Vest” and then the “Hemmelige festen” in Bergen in 2018, to the big festivals such as Bergenfest and Øyafestivalen in 2019.

DIVine is well known among the guests of Bergen Pride as she has played at Rainbow Night, in Pride Park and Pride Cruise in recent years, and with her dazzling smile and big afro, it is difficult to avoid this fantastic artist!

DiVine is a well-known figure on Amsterdam’s club scenes, and has performed at parties such as Valtifest Flirtaton, Superball, Milkshake, ADE and Club NYX. In addition, she has traveled around Europe at various pride festivals and queer nightclubs. She has worked with famous artists such as Larry Tee, Fedde Le Grand Gregor, Saldo and Jodie Harsh. DiVine will definitely create an euphoric pride parade feeling!

DJ iDja has made a name for himself as a DJ in Sápmi in recent years. With a passion for electronic dance music, he combines urban electrònica with yoik. The inspiration comes from the traditional Sami on the one hand, and from house and disco on the other. Along with DJ iDja is  “ÅVLA” – Ole Henrik Lifjell. Through a deep dive into its own affiliation with the Southern, Pite and Northern Sami, ÅVLA has worked to revitalize and further develop the yoik in a contemporary sound image. Together they have released several singles and an EP, and this summer they will release their debut album. The key word is fresh, new and unique!

In 2018, Halie collected millions of plays on Spotify with four singles – including the feelgood song “Youth” and “Not Yours” which addresses the #metoo theme – before she had time to finish school. There is no doubt that Halie has experienced great success, she has already managed to play at some of Norway’s biggest festivals such as Øyafestivalen, Bergenfest, Slottsfjell and Pstereo.

She is compared to artists such as Tove Lo, and Charlie XCX, at the same time the hype around the young Bergen girl continues at breakneck speed. In February 2020, she released her debut EP “Good Kids”, to good reviews at home and abroad.

She has clearly earned her way to the big stages. When she made her concert debut during Wild Wild West in 2017, there was simply not enough space in the venue. The concert garnered an adventurous six-review from Engelen in BT, while NME itself highlighted her as the highlight of the festival.

The Bergen artist then impressed a lot at by:Larm 2018 where she filled Sentrum Scene to the brim. The concert was followed by a number of tribute reviews and a generous guest appearance in Lørdagsrevyen.

It’s not just City: Larm that has made Halie stand out. After playing Where’s The Music Festival in Nordkoping, with a producer for Skavlan in the venue, she was immediately booked to play the Nordic region’s largest TV show – by the way, it is the first time in the show’s history that they introduce such a young and fresh artist!

The same autumn, she was back on NRK in prime time, on Lindmo where she performed Not Yours.

Tracksuits, danceable hits, crazy live shows and generally good atmosphere. It is no wonder that DATAROCK has been one of Norway´s most popular bands for almost a lifetime.

In 2018, they released “Face the Brutality”, their first studio album in 9 years. The reviewers rolled 5 out of 6 in both Dagbladet, Aftenposten, Hamar Arbeiderblad, BT and GAFFA, and abroad the record was harvested 7 out of 10 in Danish Diskant, 4 out of 5 in Classic Pop Mag and 5 out of 5 in Music News. Quickly followed that “A Fool At Forty Is A Fool Indeed”, their fifth EP, with the same international response in 2019. 

Fronted by the rarely charismatic vocalist Fredrik Saroea, the guys behind monster hits like “Fa-Fa-Fa”, “Computer Camp Love” and “Give It Up” have created big waves, both here at home and out in the big world. Their completely unique form of electro-pop has provided an ever-growing fan base, and the band’s songs have, among other things. has been used in commercials for Apple, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Samsung and Google, in computer games such as the FIFA series and “The Sims”, as well as in TV programs such as “Workaholics” and “Vampire Diaries”.

DATAROCK must also be considered one of Norway’s most internationally recognized bands. Their 1,000 concerts in 36 countries include 20 tours in the US, 8 in Australia – and concerts at festivals such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, Reading & Leeds, Summer Sonic, Hurricane, Sónar and Roskilde. On June 12 they´ll make you dance at USF Verftet during Bergen Pride 2021!

“Wigs, stilettos and liberation” is a historical journey through the performing art known as

drag. This fabulous, colorful, flamboyant and important part of Norwegian cultural history is now documented for the very first time by author Daisy Sælen Hafstad in the book “Wigs, stilettos and liberation – The story of the Norwegian drag show”

Here you will get a unique insight into an important part of Norwegian queer history, and get the chance to read the artist’s personal stories, admire the wildest creations, and enjoy the colorful images of this art form that dates back to the end of the 19th century and up to today’s drag queens. For the past three years, author Daisy Sælen Hafstad searched the whole country for all its drag-historical treasures. What she found along the way were not only stilettos and shimmering sequin dresses, but also testimonies of a liberation struggle that many today take for granted. In June Daisy visits Bergen Pride to share the stories she encountered along the way.

This autumn, Norway has had a Conservative-led government for eight years, and during those years Norway has climbed all the way up to a second place, and sunk down to a fifth place on ILGA’s rainbow map. A map where European countries are ranked on the basis of legislation and policy when it comes to equal conditions for LGBTI people. Several important national issues for the queer movement have been put on the agenda over the past eight years, and we have fought several important political issues such as the implementation of gender expression and gender identity in the hate crime section, changes in legal gender and important changes in the Biotechnology Act. Nevertheless, we are far from finished, and there are still a number of important fights before Norway will be able to adorn itself with a first place on ILGA’s rainbow map. Including strengthening the work against hate crime, a ban on conversion therapy, greater recognition of rainbow families, family reunification for queer immigrants and refugees, and protection of intersex people from medical interventions. To mention something.

For this year’s opening debate, Bergen Pride invites queer Nationals politicians to debate duels where we look back at the last eight years to see if they can give any clue as to how the queer political landscape will be in the next four years. What are the most important breakthroughs for the government, and what do they want to achieve in the next four years?

While we have been fighting another virus lately, the fight against the HIV virus has been with us for almost 40 years. HIV Norway is one of the organizations that has been the longest in the fight against the virus in Norway, and will at Pride House tell a little about their fight and work. From a clear death sentence, we now have medicines that slow down the virus where people on successful treatment are both infection- and disease-free, and we have preventive treatment in the form of PrEP. HIV Norway meets with representatives from the Health Committee and the National Institute of Public Health about the upcoming challenges, what is needed to maintain the victories we have achieved, and how Norway’s experiences can contribute internationally. In Norway, we are in the process of stopping the epidemic, while it is still a major problem elsewhere in the world. What does it take to win the battle against the virus in both Norway and the world?

Everyone has a sexuality, regardless of disability, age, gender orientation or culture, and everyone has the right to live out their sexuality safely and openly. Nevertheless, many people with disabilities and chronic illness experience that their sexuality is a non-topic. Studies show, among other things, that many people encounter prejudices and myths about disability, and that this can have consequences for the self-image, and limit the access to information about sexuality. At the same time, it is pointed out that sex with disabilities can work well, and that young people with positive feelings for their own bodies and good knowledge of sexuality often have better mental and physical health.

We are visited by board member in FRI, and former leader of the Norwegian Disability Association’s Youth, Henriette Nilsen, who based on the report “Sex that works” prepared by Young people with disabilities, will talk about young people’s experiences of sexuality and functional ability.

After the lecture, we have based on NRK’s ​​concept in the TV series “Do not ask about it”, invited a panel to answer the questions you do not dare to ask about sexuality and disability.

Sports should be a place for social inclusion, and a place where you can experience joy regardless of who you are, or your background. Nevertheless, we are constantly reminded that we still have a way to go when it comes to diversity and inclusion in the sports area.  Football is often referred to as homophobia’s “last bulwark”. There are many stories about queer football players who have quit playing, and there are few open professional football players in Norway. In October 2020, an incident with the football player Flamur Kastrati caused a great debate, after he called an opponent the Norwegian equivalent of “fucking faggot”. Kastrati later apologized for the statement and became an ambassador for the queer organization Salam.

During the spring and summer of 2020, several examples of racism in Norwegian sports were highlighted. Based on this, Professor Elsa Kristiansen and Lasse Sonne at the University of Southeast Norway, examined the conditions in Norwegian sports federations, and concluded that the sports to a limited extent reflects society in general, and that there are “tendencies to structural racism” in Norwegian sports. The report revealed that among the Norwegian Sports Confederation’s 55 federations, only 16 had regulations on racism. Furthermore, it showed a lack of funds to combat racism and discrimination in sports, and a lack of training in the areas anti-discrimination and racism.

Why is it still difficult for minorities to be open in sports? How can the Norwegian sports federations work to become more diverse and inclusive, and make more people feel welcome? And how can we ensure that the sports are a safe and joyful area for everyone?

In the autumn of 2020, the University of Bergen received harsh criticism from students, after they in an attempt to be able to offer more physical education for the students during the pandemic, used the Salem Conference Center for lectures. The premises are owned by the Norwegian Lutheran Mission Association (NLM). Among other things, NLM stands for a conservative view of cohabitation and marriage, and is among other things part of the organization «Til Helhet» which was behind the controversial conversion therapy event at NLA in 2019.

Queer Students (Skeive Studenter) was among those who spoke out against the use of religious premises for teaching at the university and pointed out that the premises could be perceived as unsafe for both students and staff, and several students raised the issue with the university, which eventually let students who did not feel comfortable at the premises have digital lectures.

This is not the first time students have reacted to the use of religious premises. In 2019, students at the University of Agder reacted to the school renting premises from Filadelfiakirken, and in 2018 there was a debate when the University of Southeast Norway had an opening party at Brunstad Church.

Is it problematic that universities and other public actors use religious premises for teaching? Congregations can make a lot of money by renting out their premises to municipalities, universities and other public actors. Should one expect a clearer position from politicians and schools when the landlords are responsible for problematic prejudices towards minorities, such as the LGBTI-community, or should one look at the tenancy only as a practical agreement regardless of values ​​and point of view? And how should universities and colleges ensure that all their premises are experienced as safe and inclusive?

The news that the Oslo Police District in 2019 gave gay people a public apology came as a long-awaited surprise for many, and gay historian in Oslo, Svein Skeid, said he had been waiting for this apology for 25 years. Several expressed joy that the police now apologized for the injustice and harassment they had committed against gay people throughout history. Kim Friele, who was present at the police station when the police made the apology, also thought it was good that it came now. At the same time, she expressed that it was a pity that today’s police officers had to apologize for the fathers’ sins. Several agreed with Friele, and thought it was more important to look at how the police behave now in their time, rather than apologize for old sins.

Today, the police participate together in several of the country’s pride parades, and for many, the sight of the uniformed police officers with rainbow flags in their hands will bring out a tear of joy in the corner of their eye. For others, on the other hand, the police’s participation arouses anger and frustration, and the tears that come are far from tears of joy. 

Despite such an apology, there are still many who experience the police’s participation in pride as unsafe, and several have argued that the police should not be allowed to participate in parades. The debate flared up again after the SIAN demonstration in Bergen in 2020, where the police sprayed protesters with tear gas to protect SIAN. Several also point to the police’s treatment of sex workers, and other minority groups as reasons why the presence of the police on pride contributes to excluding others by the fact that pride is perceived as unsafe.

Is a parade invitation to uniformed police to pull the ladder up after us, when we know that several minority groups feel insecure with their presence on pride, and many still experience abuse of power and harassment by the police? Is it historyless of pride organizers to invite the police into the heat, when the whole basis of our own movement started as a revolt against the police abuse and persecution of us?

Can not the police’s visibility of pride also help to make it easier for people to report hate crimes? Should we forgive the old sins, and rather give the police the opportunity to improve, and do we achieve this by shutting them out?

After several years of discussion about which terminology to use to refer to our own target group, FRI chose to move away from the widely used letter series “LGBT +”, with the name change from LLH to FRI, and the new subtitle refers rather to gender and sexuality diversity, rather than to list different groups in our own environment. The change was well received as several different minority groups had long felt overlooked and excluded from the concept of «LGBT», at the same time as it was also understood that this series of letters could in theory continue to grow forever.

In recent years, however, we have seen a new but similar debate about visibility in our own community. This time it is not about the row of letters, but about the rainbow flag which since 1979 has been the very symbol of the gay liberation movement. Following a campaign to address racism among queer bars and in the queer communities in Philadelphia, local authorities launched a new rainbow flag created by the advertising agency Tierney. In the new version, a brown and a black stripe were added to the top of the rainbow flag.

In 2018, independent of the flag in Philadelphia, the artist Daniel Quasar launched a new version of the rainbow flag, where they added the color stripes from the trans flag, as well as a black and a brown stripe. The flag was named the “progressive pride flag”, and was to indicate the necessary progress in the inclusion work for gender minorities, black people and people of color.

Both flags have been received with varying enthusiasm, and they have created discussion and debate in our own communities in several places in the world. While supporters believe that it is important to make the struggle of minorities visible also within our own community, opponents claim that a renewal of the flag is not necessary as everyone is included in the original six-colored flag, and that by adding the new subjects the stripes will exclude other groups.

Is there a need for a new rainbow flag, or is everyone included in Gilbert Baker’s flag from 1979? Is the flag debate really the “LGBT”- letter row debate in disguise? Can we live with more flags, or will it divide our common liberation struggle? Will the whole flag debate be a distraction from the real issue; namely to deal with racism and exclusion within one’s own queer community?

(English speaking event)

-A conversation about the power of art, activism and being trans! 

Daniel Mariblanca is a dancer with Carte Blanche and the founder of the transgender inclusive dance and performance company 71BODIES. He is also transgender person. 

In 2018, the company premiered the multidisciplinary production 71BODIES 1DANCE, which was inspired by seventy one transgender people and their stories. The performance has received local, national, and international support and visibility. Through film, photography and dance, the performance talks about binary and non-binary destinies, about transformations in people of different ages from different parts of the world.  With this project Daniel was awarded as the Artist of the year from Bergen Kommune in 2018. The second work of 71BODIES was In First Person that premier in 2020 receiving the BTs kritikerpris in Pernilleprisen in 2021.

Mariblanca will join us at Bergen Pride 2021 and will through conversation talk to us about the importance of art as a way to process and empower difficult matters, on why representation matters and how we can create safe spaces for celebration of gender and trans identity. He will also screen videos and photographs from some of the work with 71BODIES, and Mariblanca will give us some insight in his upcoming project; A True Story.

One in four young people in their 20s has had unwanted sex, NRK revealed in connection with the series I»nnafor» in 2020. 42 percent of the women answered that they had had unwanted sex, and 37 percent of these said that it had happened while they slept or were intoxicated. The same number answer that they said no, but that they were not heard.

The rape provision in the Norwegian Penal Code requires that it must be proven that violence, or threats have been used, or that the person was unconscious or asleep. Sweden has had a consent law since 2018, and similar laws have been introduced in Canada, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, England and Scotland. After Sweden introduced its law, more people are convicted of rape, and the penalties are stricter. The number of convictions within various rape categories has increased by 75 percent since the law came into force.

The debate about consent law in Norway has been going on for several years, and got a new wind in the sails after #MeToo. Opponents of such a law point out that the evidentiary situation in rape cases is challenging, and that it will focus on the victim’s consent rather than the perpetrators’ action, and thereby make the burden of reporting greater. Proponents believe that a consent law will both set the standard and clarify where the line goes, and at the same time lead to fewer rape cases being dropped.

Should Norway introduce a consent law?

In 2020, almost one million Norwegians viewed Melodi Grand Prix, and the music competition annually engages large parts of the population when we cheer on Norway’s contribution to the European final in Eurovision Song Contest. The competition has given us monster hits such as “Waterloo”, “Euphoria” and our very own “Fairytale” which won in 2009, and there are few who can not sing along to Olsen Brothers legendary “Fly On The Wings of Love”! The Eurovision Song Contest attracts close to 200 million viewers each year, and is very popular far beyond Europe’s borders, not least among queer communities across large parts of the world. The rainbow flag is for many synonymous with the music competition, and its popularity among gay men was clear from the cheers when Sweden’s Eurovision host, Petra Mede, spoke directly to all “dancing queens” among the audience in 2016.

Eurovision has also several times contributed to the start of debates about queer rights and living conditions in the wake of the competition. In 2018, China was denied by the EBU – the European Broadcasting Union to show the final when they censored rainbow flags in the semifinals, and there were loud protests against Russia’s musical contribution after the country’s introduction of the anti-homopropaganda law. The year after the Austrian drag artist Conchita Wurst won, Hungary withdrew from the competition, and it is speculated whether it was the competition’s close links to the queer environment that were decisive for the decision. In his victory speech, Wurst himself had a clear message for Russian President Vladimir Putin – “We are unstoppable”.

What is it that makes this European music competition draw full houses in the continent’s queer nightclubs? Can this be categorized as queer culture? Can we call it a homopolitical project?

Will the Eurovision Song Contest become a common language for Europe’s queer people, who both unite and strengthen us in our common struggle for rights? Or is the Eurovision Song Contest nothing more or less than what we see; a lavish music competition with varying quality wrapped in glitter, pyro and crackling costumes?