The motto of Geneva is “post tenebrus lux,” meaning “after darkness, light”. It was a call for tolerance and hope for reforms of acceptance to which so many of us still aspire.

We are living through so many dark uncertainties in our society today linked to the COVID pandemic, linked to war at our doorstep, linked to climate change, linked to a resurgence of biphobia, transphobia and homophobia, linked to ongoing HIV infections… Yet we hold on to our hope of coming out of this time of darkness  and stepping into a time of light.

And Geneva - as a bastion of diversity, equality, and international solutions - lights up this path. Indeed, Geneva has been a crossroads where cultures meet ever since the Roman period. We are lucky to live in a city where diversity is celebrated and the municipality translates the European Convention of Human Rights to actions, such as promoting equality of all its residents without distinction of gender, sexual orientation or origin. Geneva is also one of the global capitals of multilateralism, bringing solutions to the challenges we face with its international organizations and NGOs.

Geneva has a long history as a city of refuge, a beacon of hope, for oppressed people – and in recent years that has included LGBTQI+ refugees and also Swiss youth migrating from other cantons. And while Swiss voters nationwide only recently approved federal marriage equality legislation, let us not forget that Geneva was Switzerland’s first canton to legally recognize same-sex relationships back in 2001.

For these reasons, the Geneva gay men’s choir, les Genevoix, wishes to join in the Escalade celebrations and organize its December 2022 concert around the theme of Geneva’s motto: “post tenebrus lux”. It is not a dark theme, but a theme of hope. Come join us as we look towards the light - it’s always darkest before the dawn.