Organizers of this year’s Oslo Pride festival have already been able to revel in record-breaking participation and spectators when celebrations climaxed with the annual Pride Parade on Saturday. Now they’re reporting record profits as well, and may actually hire some staff instead of relying strictly on volunteers.
An estimated 40,000 people were out marching along a route that’s believed to have attracted more thatn 200,000 spectators. Sponsorships and participation in events held all week long also broke records, according to Oslo Pride chief Fredrik Dreyer.
Oslo Pride is a stock-held entity owned by FRI (Foreningen for kjønns- og seksualitetsmangfold), an association that promotes gender diversity. Newspaper Aftenposten reported that revenues from Oslo Pride have risen from NOK 2.3 million in 2014 to NOK 5.13 million last year. Operating profits rebounded from a deficit of NOK 93,000 fours years ago to NOK 702,000 last year.
“All the money goes right back into the festival, where everything is free of charge except for two parties at Rockefeller (an Oslo concert hall),” Dreyer told Aftenposten. He’s thrilled by the growth but mostly keen on securing a positive net worth to enable the festival to continue and keep growing.
newsinenglish.no staff