LGBTIQ persons sent out a message that they were not taking part in the parade only as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans-gender, inter-sexual and queer persons, but as citizens who would not stand by and watch in silence the wheel of history going back.
For the event to proceed peacefully and without incident, police secured the route of the procession and the authorities on Friday called for dignified behaviour, warning that the entire procession would be filmed.
During the parade walk, that lasted from 4 to 5 pm, LGBTIQ activists wanted to express their dissatisfaction and concern about the political situation in the country and said they dedicated this year's march to the citizens of Croatia.
"We don't want to stand by and watch in silence the promotion of exclusiveness, chauvinism, totalitarianism, violence, glorification of the Ustasha regime and fascism," reads a statement issued by leading LGBTIQ activists on Friday.
"As long as there are people incessantly calling for war, we will fight for a society of peace, coexistence and solidarity. We must stop further political, economic and moral destruction of society. The response to radicalisation and hatred must be a single voice of a broad, united progressive front," said the organisers.
Some of prominent figures that joined the parade were Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic, War Veterans' Affairs Minister's assistant Bojan Glavasevic, the Green party "ORAH" leader, Mirela Holy and a few Croatian People's Party (HNS) officials.
The parade finished with a show and a concert in Ribnjak Park on Saturday evening.
The organisers said that over 5,000 people had participated in this year's parade.