Let us recall the last ceramic parade, which took place in 2024. For decades, the event had been held on Friday, the third day of the Ceramic Festival, before the festival’s official opening and the handover of the city keys to the elder of the Ceramic Brotherhood.
When the parade took place, it was heavily criticised, yet hundreds of people participated. It was a celebration for all residents, so the parade included ceramic companies, various organisations, associations, allotment gardeners, female students of the University of the Third Age, and invited guests from neighbouring municipalities, including Lwówek Śląski and Lubomierz.
The parade was called the great ceramic fiesta, the ceramic procession, or the ceramic thirtieth during last year’s jubilee edition.
A costume and float competition was also held during the parade. This resulted in many interesting costumes thematically connected with Bolesławiec ceramics.
“Zdobinki” from the Ceramic Plants made their first appearance at the ceramic parade; peacocks from Ceramika Artystyczna took part, as did the colourful processions of Manufaktura and employees of Milena ceramics.
All of this was cancelled by a unilateral decision of the city’s president. Officially, the president cites safety concerns, but the national press has been writing extensively about his homophobic behaviour upon seeing the rainbow flags of the LGBT community, which had been invited to the parade by festival participants.
Another issue was the city’s failure to ensure the safety of the people taking part in the parade. There was no security, and the number of people in the parade was not reported anywhere. Last year, the organiser also thoughtlessly invited aggressive football hooligans from Zagłębie Lubin and believed them when they said they would parade peacefully. Unfortunately, they set off flares, verbally abused LGBT people, and attacked a woman.