Finnish President Alexander Stubb and his spouse Suzanne Innes-Stubb will serve as the patrons of Helsinki Pride Week festival this year, the event's organisers announced on Monday.
Taking place from 23 to 29 June, Helsinki Pride Week's events will culminate with its annual parade in the capital's downtown on Saturday 28 June, an event which regularly draws tens of thousands of particpants and spectators.
"As patrons of the Helsinki Pride event, we stand on the side of equality, we're always against discrimination and all forms of harassment. Every person has the right to dignity and self-determination and to be treated with respect, regardless of personal characteristics," Stubb and Innes-Stubb said in a joint statement in a Helsinki Pride media release issued on Monday.
"We are very pleased and honored that the president and his spouse will be the patrons of Helsinki Pride Week. This show of support is especially meaningful at a time when human rights are under threat worldwide," Helsinki Pride's chair Senni Moilanen said in the release.
The theme of this year's Helsinki Pride Week is "Pride without borders", which celebrates the local Pride community's support of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants belonging to sexual and gender minority groups for the past decade.
"With [this year's theme], we want to highlight that Finland is not just a country where you are born — it's a place that invites everyone who believes in equality, justice and human dignity," Moilanen stated.
She added that by being patrons of the event, it shows the president and his spouse celebrate Finland's diverse rainbow community as well as their support for people belonging to sexual and gender minority groups who are in a particularly vulnerable position.
