On May 17, 2013, the law allowing marriage for same-sex couples (commonly known as Marriage for All, or all, we might add) was enacted during Hollande's presidency. In 2023, this provision celebrated its 10th birthday. Ten years that haven’t erased homophobia, stigma, or discrimination, but have allowed thousands of people to put a ring on it without their sexual orientation being a legal barrier.
A major societal advancement, celebrated by the City of Paris on Saturday, May 16, 2025, with a grand Ball of Love, this time held at Place de la Bastille, after two successful editions at the Hôtel de Ville. The date is symbolic, as the day after commemorates the .
International Day Against LGBTQIA+ Phobias.See this post on Instagram
Free karaoke, performances, cabaret, and DJ sets
The concept is the same : this third edition of the Bal de l’Amour aims to be danceable, festive, accessible, and therefore free. Everyone is welcome, whether you are lesbian, gay, pansexual, bisexual, transgender, the ball is for you!a destination for all Parisians, LGBTQIA+ communities and their allies, married couples, families, youth, and seniors who wish to celebrate the adoption of marriage for all.
Starting at 6 PM, an amazing program will showcase the artistic and musical contributions of LGBTQIA+ minorities from the 1960s to today, with the central themes of equality and love. It kicks off at 6 PM with a set by Frederic Djaaleb, and continues with cabarets, karaoke, dance and singing performances and other DJ sets to get you moving until night falls. The last concert is scheduled for 10:35 PM.
International LGBTQIA+ Awards in Paris
Since May 17 also marks the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, the event will allow the City Hall to reveal the identities of the 2025 award winners for the International LGBTQIA+ Awards in Paris, which honor advocates for LGBTQIA+ rights. These awards will be presented in the late afternoon at the Hotel de Ville, by a jury chaired by Victor Gutierrez, a former high-level athlete and Spanish parliamentarian.
Alongside the Love Ball, a variety of events will be organized throughout May 16 and 17, including a proactive artistic exhibition against LGBTQIA+phobias, a series of conferences at the City Hall on the regressions of LGBTQIA+ rights internationally, the inauguration of the first memorial in France dedicated to the homosexual victims of deportation at the Arsenal Port Garden, as well as a commemoration in honor of Jean Diot and Bruno Lenoir, the last people sentenced to death for homosexuality, on Léopold Bellan Street (2nd).
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Ball of Love
Bastille Square – 4th Arrondissement
On May 16, 2025, starting at 6 PM
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