Kenya's 60-Day Clock on Trans Rights Is About to Run Out
A landmark May ruling gave Kenyan officials 60 days to start considering gender-marker changes. As that deadline nears in mid-July, advocates are watching to see whether the state complies.
Madrid Pride's Main March Fills the Streets as Europe's Biggest Parade Returns
MADO 2026 reaches its climax on July 4 with the huge Atocha-to-Colón march — a mix of protest and party that anchors Europe's largest Pride celebration.
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Halfway Through 2026, Here's Where the Western Balkans Stand on LGBTQ+ Rights
A mid-year check-in from our base in the region: Pride season is behind us, the Rainbow Map has spoken, and EU accession keeps quietly reshaping the picture across the Balkans.
Brussels Just Put a Deadline on Albania's Civil Union Law
At May's accession conference the EU turned a long-standing 'to-do' into a closing benchmark: no partnership recognition and gender-recognition law, no finishing Cluster 1. For Albania's LGBTQ+ community — and for us, here in Tirana — that changes the math.
The EU's New LGBTIQ+ Equality Strategy Is Live. The Real Test Is Enforcement.
Brussels has a five-year plan to protect and empower LGBTIQ+ people across the bloc. The ambition is genuine — but for the Balkans and the countries queuing to join, what happens next depends on whether anyone makes it bite.
Gay Games XII Closes in Valencia This Weekend — and Passes the Torch to Perth
More than 10,000 athletes from dozens of countries wrap up the world's largest inclusive sporting event on July 4. After a hard week for LGBTQ+ news, Valencia is the reminder that the movement is also joy.
Hungary Drops Charges Against Pécs Pride Organizer Géza Buzás-Hábel
A gay Roma teacher faced a year in prison for organizing a banned Pride march. In June, prosecutors dropped the case — and the reason they gave matters as much as the outcome.
News
All news →Kenya's 60-Day Clock on Trans Rights Is About to Run Out
A landmark May ruling gave Kenyan officials 60 days to start considering gender-marker changes. As that deadline nears in mid-July, advocates are watching to see whether the state complies.
Halfway Through 2026, Here's Where the Western Balkans Stand on LGBTQ+ Rights
A mid-year check-in from our base in the region: Pride season is behind us, the Rainbow Map has spoken, and EU accession keeps quietly reshaping the picture across the Balkans.
Brussels Just Put a Deadline on Albania's Civil Union Law
At May's accession conference the EU turned a long-standing 'to-do' into a closing benchmark: no partnership recognition and gender-recognition law, no finishing Cluster 1. For Albania's LGBTQ+ community — and for us, here in Tirana — that changes the math.
Travel
All travel →Gay Games XII Closes in Valencia This Weekend — and Passes the Torch to Perth
More than 10,000 athletes from dozens of countries wrap up the world's largest inclusive sporting event on July 4. After a hard week for LGBTQ+ news, Valencia is the reminder that the movement is also joy.
Cologne Pride 2026: One of Europe's Biggest CSDs Marches 'For Queer Rights'
With a street festival July 3–5 and a parade of hundreds of floats on July 5, ColognePride returns under the motto 'For Queer Rights — Many. Together. Strong.'
Madrid Pride 2026 Opens: 'To the Streets With Dissidence and Resistance'
MADO kicks off June 25 in Chueca and builds toward Europe's largest Pride march on July 4 — staged in the country that just topped the Rainbow Map, and just as Spain reckons with a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime.
Culture
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Madonna Opened Pride Month Dangling Over Times Square, Because Of Course She Did
At a surprise Grindr-hosted Pride concert in Times Square, Madonna previewed her upcoming album Confessions II — and gave fans a collective heart attack by swinging a leg over the stage barrier.
Apple TV's 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' Premieres Today — Murray Bartlett and Brandon Flynn Anchor a Cam-Boy Thriller With Real Queer Bones
The Tatiana Maslany–led dark comedy from David J. Rosen drops its first two episodes on Apple TV today, May 20. Two openly queer leading men — Murray Bartlett and Brandon Flynn — are doing some of the most interesting work in their careers, and the show is treating sex work like a job rather than a punchline.
Bulgaria Just Won Eurovision. Now Sofia Hosts in 2027 — and That's Complicated for Queer Fans
Dara's 'Bangaranga' gave Bulgaria its first-ever Eurovision win on Saturday in Vienna. The 2027 contest will head to Sofia — a city in a country ranked 40th of 49 on Europe's Rainbow Map and where an anti-LGBT 'propaganda' law is still on the books.