Serbian gay right activists marched with their first openly lesbian prime minister Ana Brnabic through the streets of Belgrade on Sunday, protected by police as a helicopter flew low overhead.
Around 2,000 police in riot gear were deployed and a helicopter swooped overhead to discourage potentially violent opponents of the march from attempting to move closer.
The police presence was halved compared to last year, prompting officials and organizers to describe the more relaxed atmosphere as a step forward.
A first-ever attempt to hold the parade in 2001, poorly planned and virtually without protection, ended with the brutal beating of a small number of participants who showed up.
The next parade was held in 2010. The participants were sheltered by 7,000 policemen in several cordons who fought off about as many attackers. Dozens were injured and arrested.
After the mayhem, the authorities banned the parade until 2014.
Since then, Pride occurred annually and this year there were two, the first one in June. The number of threats and incidents had been on decline, but the European Union urged Serbia in 2016 to do more for minorities.
Despite the incident-free parades, homophobia remains widespread in Serbia and other societies in the Balkans and is even encouraged by some prominent figures.
Last week, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church compared homosexuality to pedophilia and incest.
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