The warm weather has attracted thousands of people to the streets of Oslo and most walk briskly through the central parts of the city.
But at the cordoned off pub street where a man in his 40s took two lives and injured dozens of people on Saturday night, a silence has set in. Some hug, some cry and many leave roses on the ground.
Roy, 48, stands with a rainbow-colored fan in his hand and watches. He was here last night and walked by just a minute before the shots sounded and created total panic on a street where people were to recharge before Saturday’s culmination of Pride Week: the parade.
– I gathered my friends and ran. It was chaos. There were thousands of people, in all directions. It was blood, it was people and it was chaos, says Roy.
Hurts
He says it hurts.
– It’s 50 years of struggle. . . and now we are here, he says, pointing to the roses and the broken glass lying on the ground where the deed was carried out.
– That is why we must continue to fight, because we can not find ourselves in this. Regardless of whether it is hatred or terrorism. That is why we fight for our cause. That’s why we go by train and do this, he says.
Roy at the scene where two people were shot and about 20 were injured in a shooting in Oslo on Saturday night.
He understands that the police closed off the park area dedicated to pride, Pride Park. But the parade should have gone, he says.
At the other end of the street, many have gathered for what appears to be a spontaneous minute of silence. Suddenly a woman shouts “happy pride!” – and the crowd erupts in applause. Then some in the sea of roses tune up in low-pitched singing, so careful that it can barely be heard just a few meters away, and once again the sober atmosphere appears.
Strong and beautiful
Vemund, 34, is wearing a white tank top with a target drawn on the back, with the message: “Why do you hate?” (“Why do you hate?”). Neither he nor the two women he is now flanked by, 53-year-old Annie and 54-year-old Ann-Kristin, were present last night – but that was mostly due to chance, says Vemund.
Now the feelings are mixed.
– Vulnerability, anger, anxiety. There are many calls, many messages that are sent, to check if people are safe, says Vemund.
Ann-Kristin calls the turnout at the place the next day “strong and beautiful”.
– It’s very quiet. It’s also frustration, this is the day when we would have marked the parade, so this is what we will see when we come down. Instead of all the nice things, says Annie.
Wrong to stop
All three believe that the police made a mistake that stopped the parade.
– We should have gone louder and louder, says Vemund and points away to the shopping streets as “on a daily basis there are as many people on” as in the parade.
– The Norwegian flag can be hoisted on a half pole, but the pride flag should be at the top, says Vemund, 34.
Despite the police’s decision, many have chosen to go on spontaneous pride trains on the streets of Oslo. In order not to be silenced.
One who did it was Roy, with the fan.
– This should not break us. It should not do that, he says
Annie, Vemund, and Ann-Kristin at the scene where two people were shot and about 20 were injured in a shooting in Oslo on Saturday night.