Even though some politicians had publicly called the event a gay pride, the organizers – the Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI) and Center for Equality Advancement (CEA) – claimed it to be a celebration of freedom. And indeed it was - participants, including a number of foreign-speaking residents, came carrying Lithuanian tricolors.
Two processions started off from the Independence and Kudirka squares and moved towards the Lithuanian Music Academy. Each consisted of several hundred people - the crowd was considerably smaller than the thousand-odd procession of the nationalist rally.
Before the march, the entire street was dotted with "entertainment islands" with performers of break-dance, samba or drums. Particularly popular was the African Community corner with performers playing African drum music.
Musician and one of Sąjūdis leaders Algirdas Kaušpėdas addressed the crowd from the Music Academy balcony. "Let's build mountains in Lithuania. Mountains of love, not stone," he said.
"Let's live here and now, because tomorrow we will live here and today," "Long live the Lithuanian government, the most governmental of governments in the world," "Let's not promise for Lithuania, let's do for Lithuania," "Let's not cry for Lithuania, let's live for Lithuania," "Let's not love ourselves free, let's love freedom within us, not ourselves in Lithuania, but Lithuania within us," and other slogans were heard from the balcony.
The event concluded with national anthem performed by the crowd and opera singer Vytautas Juozapaitis.
