Sofia Pride 2025: Organisers lend billboards to other causes because of history of vandalism

In 2025, Sofia Pride will not have outdoor advertising, organisers of the event said on June 3.

“You will not see the rainbow on the billboards, nor our messages of equality, family and love. Not because we give up. But because we choose to respond to the darkness with light,” organisers of the event, to be held in Bulgaria’s capital city on June 14, said.

The event will start with a concert on Knyaz Aleksandar I (Battenberg) Square, and is expected to gather more than 10 000 people again in support of the fight for equality of the LGBTI community in Bulgaria

“After years of vandalised billboards, pelted with paint, scratched with threats and insults, this year we decided to respond with good. We donated the outdoor advertising spaces that we traditionally use to causes that we believe in,” organisers said.

“Because we believe that when we fight for ourselves, we fight for you too. Because when we want justice, we want it for everyone. Because when we dream of a dignified and peaceful life for our families, we dream of a better Bulgaria.”

Now, when you scan the QR code on the billboard, you will not go to the Sofia Pride page, organisers said.

You will find the BCause Foundation platform in support of charity with various causes – from protection for victims of violence, education for future doctors, scholarships for young people without parents, support for people with disabilities, help for addicts, to hope and care for lonely elderly people throughout Bulgaria.

The organisers of Sofia Pride are supporting six organizations with seven campaigns in favor of those in need:

The P.U.L.S. Foundation and their mission for a future without violence. Every year, over 70 people find safety and shelter in the organization’s crisis centre.

The BCause Foundation with “Ready for Success” – scholarships for young people without parents, but with excellent grades, and the Our Parents Fund, which aims to improve health and social care for the elderly.

The For Good Foundation and their “Firefly” project, which transforms children’s wards in the country.

“Active Deaf Youth Organisation” with their campaign “Deaf Youth Can Do It Too – We Invest in the Leaders of Tomorrow!” – a training camp for hearing-impaired youth.

“Doctors of the Future” – a program to improve the level of pediatric care in Bulgaria, focused on doctors-specialists in various pediatric specialties.

“Centre for Humane Policies” and “Pink House” in Plovdiv, which care for the most vulnerable and need urgent renovation of the Center in the city.

History of vandalism:

2018: A billboard from the “It’s Okay, It’s Just Love” campaign in Varna was sprayed with green paint, followed by a petition for its removal and dismantling.

2021: The “Mom, Dad, I Have Something to Tell You” campaign – vandalised and sprayed with paint.

2023: “Our Family Invites You to Sofia Pride” – massively vandalised all over Sofia, followed by institutional checks against the families and organisers.

2024: Another billboard covered in paint in the last days of the campaign.

“Hatred divides us, but goodness heals us. Sofia Pride billboards are no longer for us. They are for ALL of us,” the event’s organisers said.

(Photos: Sofia Pride)

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