In Katowice, a city whose agglomeration has more than three million inhabitants, the parade attracted about four thousand participants. About a thousand people took to the streets in the university city of Lublin.

The fact that the parades took place without violence is a change from previous years. Lublin was regularly the scene of violent outbursts provoked by conservative groups. In 2019, such a group tried to stop the event by force.

In Katowice, things threatened to go wrong this year. An extreme right-wing organization had announced it would protest, but the mayor banned the counter-demonstration for fear of violence. However, the judge put a stop to that and reversed that decision.

A few members of the group were therefore able to stand along the route with banners that compare homosexuality with paedophilia. Still, the parade took place without violence.

"There is definitely a huge change from previous years," one participant told Notes from Poland. "We are very happy that our parades are making a difference."

In recent years, Poland has launched an anti-LGBT+ campaign by the government. The community is accused of violating "traditional family values". As a result, several regions declared themselves "LGBT+-free", something some recently had to withdraw due to both court rulings and discontinued grant money.