High heels race draws crowds in Madrid, despite conservative efforts to pare down Pride events

Dozens of men and women ran through the streets of Madrid in stilettos on Thursday, pushing back against a conservative political party’s attempt to curtail LGBT Pride celebrations.

The race, which drew domestic and international runners of all ages, took place in Chueca, an LGBT-friendly neighborhood in the Spanish capital. The race is one of the keystone events of the area’s annual Pride celebrations, according to Reuters.

{mosads}Vox, an ultra-conservative political party that won about 10 percent of the vote in the country’s election in April, has attacked the festival and LGBT rights in Spain. The party has recently pushed for Pride events to be pushed from the city center to a suburban park.

Rocio Monasterio, the Madrid regional branch head for Vox, told local news outlet La Contra TV that Pride celebrations “denigrate people’s dignity.”

“When a mother, a father step outside there is no reason for them to stumble into this spectacle … involving explicit sexual acts in the street at daytime,” Monasterio said, according to Reuters.

But pro-LGBT groups kept the race in the city center, which saw participants chanting against Vox, according to Reuters. 

The race has taken place for more than 20 years, according to Euronews. Participants have to wear at least 4-inch heels, which are measured before it starts. The winner gets about $390.

Madrid will hold its Pride parade on Saturday, joining many other countries worldwide that have celebrated LGBT rights during the month of June.