After Kalmarsund Pride closed down its operations earlier in the year, it became clear yesterday that Kalmar Stadsmission will take over the pride festival in Kalmar. The plan is for the festival to take place between 2-3 September, with a pride parade through the city, where the police in Kalmar are involved in the planning.
– We have a close contact with the organizer about security, where we look at how they intend to carry out the event and then we make an assessment of how much resources we need to set aside, says Niko Kalcidis, municipal police in Kalmar.
What have you done to assess the event?
– It is a couple of months ahead and often it is information we get closer to the event, so at the moment we have not made any major assessments.
Threats and harassment against the parade
In previous years, festival workers in Kalmar have endured threats and harassment, and during the 2017 edition of the parade, a minor quarrel arose between a woman in the Pride train and a man from the Nazi group Nordic Resistance Movement, who had grouped in Kalmar.
This year, the terrorist attack in Oslo during the midsummer weekend, where two people were shot dead at a gay bar, also casts a shadow over the event, but Niko Kalcidis feels no major concern about this year’s pride parade in Kalmar.
– No, there is no threat, previous years’ pride parades have been carried out in a good way and attracted a lot of people. The events that have taken place have been handled in a fast way that did not disrupt the parade, in addition there have been no incidents and all parties have been satisfied, says Niko Kalcidis.