Vercelli Pride takes place on Saturday 19 September 2026. It is the town's second, seven years after the first: the local Arcigay committee held that one on 11 May 2019 and called it the first Pride in the province.
The route and the day
People gather from 15:00 in Piazza Roma, in front of the railway station, and the head of the march leaves at 16:00. The route published by the organisers is about 2.6 km: Viale Garibaldi, Via XX Settembre, Via Derna, Via Massaua, Piazza Cesare Battisti, Corso San Martino and Piazza Pajetta, then back onto Viale Garibaldi and into Parco Kennedy, which the march should reach at around 18:00. DJ In.Visibile plays from the Pride float on the way.
In the park, speeches from the stage start at 18:30 and the band Tony e i Volumi plays at 20:00. The night finishes with a DJ set by LUI-J at 23:30 at Ottimo, the listening bar on Via Caduti sul Lavoro.
The organisers say there will be chemical toilets suitable for disabled people, a security team and first aid. Anyone with a specific need is asked to write to info@vercellipride.it beforehand.
Before the march
Two events in the week lead up to it. On Monday 14 September at 18:00 the writer Vanessa Tonnini presents her book Grammatica di un desiderio at Sala Facelli, the CGIL offices on Via Eugenio Stara 2. On Tuesday 15 September from 15:00 to 18:00 there is a public debate on Article 3 of the constitution and LGBTQIA+ rights at Palazzo Tartara, the University of Eastern Piedmont building on Via Galileo Ferraris 109. VercelliOggi reported in April that the organisers wanted this edition to be about debate as much as the march.
Getting there
Vercelli is on the railway between Turin and Milan, and the march starts outside the station, so arriving by train is the simplest option. We list no venues in Vercelli itself.
Where Italy stands
The organisers' list of demands reads like a summary of what Italian law does not provide. Same-sex couples have had civil unions since 2016 but cannot marry, and the clause on adopting a partner's child was cut from that law. The Zan bill, which would have extended hate crime law to sexual orientation and gender identity, was defeated in the Senate in 2021. Among the demands are that extension, marriage, full adoption rights and a space for the LGBTQIA+ community in Vercelli. Italy scores 24 out of 100 on ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Index. More on our Italy page.
Other Prides nearby
The week before, Legnano holds its first Pride on 13 September, 49 km away. After Vercelli come Aosta Pride on 26 September, 97 km, and VCO Pride in Gravellona Toce on 4 October, 67 km to the north.
