The eighth edition of a march organised by local LGBT activists was held in the second biggest Croatian city of Split on Saturday, with some 300 participants taking part in the event, according to an estimate given by the organiser.

The walk through the centre of that Adriatic city was held under the slogan “A Walk for Love”.

One of the activists, Nikolina Banic, told the press that the pride parade in Split still stirred up controversies, “however, we keep advocating for the values of love and tolerance”.

Local Social Democrat (SDP) leader, Goran Kotur, joined the parade and explained that the SDP had always been supporting this march and that it fully “supports the human rights of the LGBT population.”

Some of the participants also carried banners with messages “We are also the Croats!”, “Life Starts with Coming Out of the Closet!” and one message was directed at Zeljka Markic, an activist who pushed for Croatia’s referendum on the Constitutional definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman.

The riot police were engaged to ensure safety and security during the event.