The third Pride Aargau is on Saturday 5 September in Aarau, under the motto Zämehalt: Mitenand und Förenand. The organising association has now published the timetable and the routes, and the practical part of the day is worth reading before you travel, because the centre of Aarau will be closed off for much of the afternoon.
The timetable
Assembly is on the Bahnhofplatz, the square directly outside Aarau station, from 13:15. Speeches start there at 13:45 and the demonstration moves off at 14:15, with 15:00 given as the time it reaches the Maienzugplatz. The festival opens on that square at 15:15 with food trucks, a bar and stalls from queer organisations in the canton, among them Rainbowsheep, the sexual health service Seges and a joint stand by LOS, TNS and Pinkcross. A second round of speeches runs to 15:45, the stage programme from 15:45 to 19:00, and the afterparty is at the Kiff from 20:00 to 02:00 with shows from 21:30.
Two routes, and a quieter block
The demonstration is arranged in sections rather than one crowd. A loud creative block with sound systems goes near the front, the participating organisations walk in the middle, and there is a quieter section at the back for anyone who wants less noise. The main route runs from the Bahnhofplatz through Kasinostrasse, Laurenzenvorstadt, Metzgergasse, Rathausgasse, Graben and Ziegelrain to the Maienzugplatz. A shorter route drops the loop through the old town and goes Bahnhofplatz, Kasinostrasse, Graben, Ziegelrain, Maienzugplatz.
The switch between the two happens at a staffed checkpoint at the entrance to Laurenzenvorstadt, so nobody has to decide at the start whether they can walk the whole way. The organisers say both squares are wheelchair accessible in principle and warn that there is cobbled ground on the way.
Getting in and out
The march starts at the station forecourt, which makes the train the obvious way in. The mobility page says the inner city is largely shut during the procession and that buses run diverted routes, so a car is the worst option of the three. There is public bike parking at the station and near the festival site, and PubliBike rental at the station itself. Aarau sits in the gap between Zurich, Basel and Bern, and this is a cantonal Pride rather than a city one, which is why it pulls people in from across the Aargau instead of from one town.
Switzerland
Switzerland scores 50.12 out of 100 on ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Index, which puts it around the middle of the European field and well behind its own reputation. Marriage has been open to same-sex couples since 1 July 2022, after a referendum in which every canton voted yes, and joint adoption came with it. Public discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation has been unlawful since 2020, also by referendum. The detail is on our Switzerland country page.
We list no venues in Aarau, so there is no bar crawl to append to this. The Kiff afterparty is where the evening goes.