Lahti Pride week underway, organiser says ‘no need to hide oneself in Lahti’

This year’s Pride week in Lahti is in full swing, with events including a youth evening on Tuesday where participants made signs and left messages for local decision-makers, Yle reported.

“In Lahti, you don’t need to hide yourself,” said Olivia Keskiväli, a local resident, who noted that she has had rainbow-coloured hair for about a month and around 40 people have complimented it.

The Lahti Pride week, themed “Permission to be seen,” aims to advance equality for the LGBTQ community. Youth instructor Elijas Kokko said discrimination and bullying of LGBTQ youth still occur in Lahti, making safe spaces and the theme week important. “It is still difficult to be a minority youth, but we are doing our best to move away from this situation,” Kokko said.

The week culminates in a parade and evening celebrations on Saturday. At Tuesday’s event at the Saima 6 youth centre, young people decorated tote bags, made pins and signs. Laura Kantosaari, chair of the Lahti youth council, said the council takes part in events to ensure young people’s voices are heard in decision-making. “If things are not talked about, nothing changes,” she said.

In 2025, the city of Lahti and Lahti Seta signed a partnership agreement making Lahti the main partner of Lahti Pride until 2027. That same year, the city council decided that rainbow flags would no longer be raised on the city hall flagpoles, with only official flags being flown there.