"At this time, without any financial support from public institutions, the Arraial + Orgulhoso do Porto does not have the logistical or security conditions to take place. With sadness and anger, we announce its cancellation", reads a note sent by the organisers of the march to newsrooms.

The march is still scheduled for June 28 at 3:00 pm on Avenida dos Aliados, but the planned configuration for the event at the end, at Largo Amor de Perdição, with a festival, has been changed.

For the organisers, "this decision is a direct reflection of the institutional abandonment of a celebration that is also a fundamental cultural space for the community", considering that it is "not a parade", but "resistance".

Contacted by Lusa, a source from Porto City Hall said that the municipality "regrets the organisation's decision to cancel the Arraial + Orgulhoso", which it learned about through the press, adding that by the end of Monday, the organisation "had not communicated the aforementioned decision to the Municipality".

At issue is the lack of financial support from Porto City Hall for the LGBTI+ March and the festival, scheduled for June 28, with the organization saying that the municipality's response "was limited to logistical support via Ágora [municipal company for Culture and Sports], without direct funding".

The organization requested, in detail, support for policing costs, tent rental for groups, sound equipment (2,500 euros), fees for local artists (3,000 euros) and civil liability insurance (500 euros).

Recalling that on May 17, the Porto City Council raised "the rainbow flag on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia", the organization points out that "the rainbow on the facades and flagpoles does not replace an effective political commitment to equality".

The organization considers that the amounts requested are "derisory" and accuses the Porto City Council of "disregarding" the cause, whose march in Porto marks the 20th edition this year.

"How many cultural events and festivals has the city government financed with millions of reais?" they ask.

Porto City Council says, in response to Lusa, that it "reiterated its willingness to support the event, in the same way as in previous years, observing the principle of equity in the support provided to other events and civil initiatives that take place in the city of Porto, and that it seeks, together with the Municipality, to obtain support for its implementation".

The local authority led by the independent Rui Moreira also says that, through the Batalha Cinema Center, it "launched an 'open call' for the collection of records that bear witness to the 20 editions of the Porto Pride march, joining the organization in the implementation of a film project that portrays two decades of affirmation of the LGBTQI+ community in the city of Porto".