45,000 at Europride,
60,000 at Vienna Pride

The EuroPride parade in Stockholm drew 15,000 marchers and 30,000 spectators July 25, reports correspondent Bjoern Skolander.

Motorcyclists led the three-hour procession followed by a contingent carrying the flag of each European nation.

After the parade, a four-hour Rainbow Music Extravaganza featured Nordic gay/lesbian artists and transsexual Israeli pop diva Dana International, winner of this year's Eurovision song contest.

In Vienna, meanwhile, 60,000 people crowded the historic Ringstrasse to demand equal rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people, organizers said.

They called for repeal of Penal Code Article 209 which prohibits gay men from having sex until age 18 while allowing heterosexuals and lesbians to do so at 14.

Marchers also stressed the need for a registered-partnership law and a national ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation.

British Age-of-Consent Change Postponed

The British government has postponed plans to lower the age of consent for gay-male sex from 18 to 16 after the House of Lords vetoed the House of Commons' approval of the move.

A spokeswoman for the gay-lobby group Stonewall pronounced the new plan acceptable. "The Government is determined to see that the huge vote for equality by MPs is translated into legislation," said Angela Mason.

The Commons' vote in favor of allowing gay sex at the same age as lesbian and heterosexual sex was 336-129. The Lords' vote against it was 290-122.

Members of the House of Lords are not elected and the new Labour government has plans to rid the chamber of hereditary seats. Some other seats are held by the nation's Anglican bishops.

Austria is the only other European Union nation with an unequal age of consent.