Eastern Europe was once a world lear on gay rights. Then ran out of spegoats | CNN

Contents:

• 9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE
• THE 15 WORST UNTRI TO BE GAY EUROPE
• EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS
• GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI
• TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS EASTERN EUROPE

9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE

When travelg the Rsian Feratn, ’s bt to keep md that sce 2013, there has been a law place that basilly mak illegal to engage the “promotn of homosexualy to mors, ” which they term “gay propaganda.

“Don’t tell people this, ” I was advised by a uple their 20s that my partner and I were sharg a table wh at a Kyiv Christmas market after we told them we were a gay uple. There’s also Café Gallery, the kd of warm and welg space that every cy needs, a gallery/fé/bar/club that accepts all typ of people, om gay to straight to trans, and om young to old. The spac mentned above embody one of the secrets of LGBTQ life not-so-iendly plac — the muni are ually que bond and highly supportive of one another, makg Geia, at least safe bubbl, one of the most gay iendly plac Eastern Europe.

In 2021, he enacted further legislatn that censors LGBT posive ntent om movi, books, or public advertisements, and severely rtricts sex tn school, forbiddg any rmatn thought to “enurage genr change or homosexualy. Romania’s urban centers feel very safe, but neverthels, is advised that public displays of affectn should be avoid bee many people — police officers particular — still garner some homophobia.

THE 15 WORST UNTRI TO BE GAY EUROPE

It’s one of only five untri to make queer rights equal at a nstutnal level and holds first place on ILGA-Europe’s Rabow Europe Inx, which ranks untri on LGBTQ+ my last vis, a gay gui showed me round the wdg medieval streets of Valletta and Rabat, potg out sential bars and rtrants om Michel-starred Noni to the Monaliza Lounge drag bar, as well as the nightclub Michelangelo lively Paceville. This spir filters down to Dubl’s many LGBTQ-iendly tablishments: two personal favour are iendly bnch spot Social Fabric Café Stoneybatter, one of the cy’s most tertg neighbourhoods, and Street 66 bar, a eful cktail spot before a night at inic LGBTQ+ stutn The southsi is gay-owned Gutter Bookshop (named after the famo Osr Wil quote), and the weekly “big gay dis” Sunday Social at Farrier & Draper; or cross the river for the Outhoe LGBTQ+ muny rource fe on Capel Street and PantiBar, owned by drag queen, activist and performer Panti Bliss. Enjoy bnch at Osr bar and fe, before a beer at one of Europe’s olst gay bars, Centralhjor, which hosts drag and Sunday jazz ssns venu clu Bøssehet Christiania, home to theatre, performanc, exhibns and parti – a well-suated boutique hotel is SP34 (doubl om £133) the Lat Quarter.

EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS

Nearby Delmoni’s (known lolly as “Del’s”), has been Merchant Cy’s “gay triangle” sce stay nearby, try the good-value Bnswick hotel (doubl om £50), on a street wh venu marked by rabow flags. Photograph: Nick Maslen/AlamyOn my last vis to Birmgham the rabow flag seemed to be everywhere, and the historic Gay Village, wh s bars, shops and f, is hugely visible, centred largely on Hurst Street. Start wh bibimbap at the thoroughfare’s Korean rtrant Topokki before drks at Missg, Siwalk or lbian bar The Fox and dancg at the legendary Nightgale Club, the olst gay club the cy, datg back to summer’s hot LGBTQ+ event is Fierce’s Healg Garns of Bab (27 June - 17 July): part of Birmgham 2022 Ftival, ’s an artistic rponse to this summer’s Commonwealth Gam, celebratg “what the Brish Empire tried (and failed) to stamp out”.

GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI

Mykonos’s rep as queer heaven dat back to the 1970s, when Jackie Onassis beme a regular visor (she first vised 1961), before blossomed as gay rort the 1980s, wh acmodatn sprgg up for the largely male 2022, you n hang out at tablished hotspots Jackie O, bar Porta or Kastro’s, and stay at the Super Paradise (doubl om £249), handy for the island’s ma LGBTQ+ beach. Photograph: Subodh Agnihotri/AlamyFor many gay men of a certa age, Fland is extribly associated wh leather-clad inic hero Tom of Fland, whose books pict a ggedly sexualised masculy durg a time pre-1971 when homosexualy was still illegal. Now you n take a tour of where thor Too Laaksonen lived his whole adult life, passg the Kansalaistori (People’s Square) ont of parliament, once a clanste meetg pot for gay karaoke fans should check out Mann’s Street, a boozy stutn; other fun spots are Street Pri the Kamppi district, and Kvääristö, a jot for queer women, transgenr, and non-bary people.

5ln people each year, cludg 300, 000 overseas self is one of the most LGBTQ-iendly untri the world: same-sex sexual activy was ma legal 1979, and was the third untry to legalise gay marriage, 2005. First stop has to be Chue, Madrid’s “gaybourhood” wh bars and venu dotted around Plaza Chue (also don’t miss the recently refurbished Merdo San Antón for tasty food stalls and a rooftop terrace). LuxembourgAdolphe Bridge Luxembourg CyNilas Enomou / NurPhoto via Getty Imag fileLuxembourg’s prime mister, Xavier Bettel, is one of only three openly gay heads of ernment the world.

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS EASTERN EUROPE

Nilas Enomou / NurPhoto via Getty Imag fileA new bridge beg built Belgium’s pal, Bssels, will be named after inic gay rights activist Suzan Daniel, who found the untry’s first LGBTQ associatn, acrdg to The Bssels Tim.

The top 15 worst untri to be gay EuropeShow all 15The most LGBTI-iendly European natns were Malta, Belgium and the four years at the top of the Rabow Europe list, the UK has fallen to third, a year after movg down to ILGA's Rabow Europe list is an annual review of 49 European untri, ranked on a sle between 0 per cent (untri wh gross vlatns of human rights and discrimatn) and 100 per cent (untri which show rpect of human rights and full equaly)'s the most ridiculo thg you've been asked about LGBT relatnships? Hungary’s hardle natnalist ernment passed a new law earlier this month banng ntent that “promot” homosexualy and genr change om beg shared wh children, effectively prohibg any discsn of LGBTQ them schools.