The Milan Pride 2026which took place on Saturday 27 June for its twenty-fifth edition with over 300 thousand people marching untilArch of Peacehad an emotional thread that ran across the stage: the memory of Mirko Moriconithe 24 year old boy killed a few days earlier together with his mother. Two artists, Aiello And Romina Falconithey chose to dedicate their moments on stage to him, transforming the final evening into a tribute.
Who was Mirko Moriconi
Mirko Moriconi24 years old, was killed with rifle shots in his home in Pieve, a hamlet of Camaiore, in the province of Lucca, together with his mother Kety Andreoni. The father, Piero Moriconi, was arrested for the murder. According to what emerged from the testimonies of friends and from the numerous messages left by the boy on social media, the basis of the conflictual relationship with his father was the lack of acceptance of his homosexuality. Already in 2022 Mirko had written a post that became sadly known, in which he spoke of a father who would have preferred him dead rather than gay. Investigations into the dynamics and motive are still ongoing.
The affair has deeply affected the LGBTQIA+ community and has established itself as one of the themes of the Milanese event, where reference has been made several times to how relevant the battle for rights and against homotransphobia is still relevant.
Aiello's speech for Mirko
On the stage of the Arco della Pace, Aiello he read a text built around the figure of Mirko, giving a first-person voice to the boy and to all those who, like him, experience the same condition. A monologue that intertwines personal news with public speeches on the topic, up to a final question addressed to the audience.
Below is the speech read by Aiellowhich can be heard in full in the video.
My name is Mirko, when someone tells me they have nothing against people like me, as long as we don't exaggerate.
My name is Mirko, I ask myself questions sitting at the desk in class while they wait outside to beat me up.
My name is Mirko, even though I had a more humane and understanding father.
My name is Mirko and I implode inside while on television a monster says that people like me can drive and if they go to hospital they will even come to treat you.
My name is Mirko and I am afraid, because the rights that seemed to have been won are threatened daily by politicians and public people who spread hatred and anger.
My name is Mirko and I'm sorry that mum suffers because of me and lives with dad every day.
My name is Mirko when they explain to me that I shouldn't be offended, that “foc*o” was just a joke, just for laughs.
My name is Mirko when I hear that the family I want is against nature.
My name is Mirko and I'm trying to introduce my boyfriend to my parents every day, but I still can't and I call him my best friend.
My name is Mirko as I write the words I will say on the Pride stage and I already know that someone will tell me to think about singing.
In every class there is a Mirko, in every family and in every city, in every table where the subject changes, in every photograph where someone smiles more than they feel good. My name is Mirko. What's your name?
An intervention that shifted attention from the musical performance to a civil gesture, with the artist transforming his space on stage into a collective reading.
Romina Falconi's performance: the dancers and the audio of the political declarations
Romina Falconiwhich has long supported LGBTQIA+ rights, took to the stage with four dancers for a performance with a strong theatrical feel. While an audio was broadcast which edited some public declarations made by Italian political leaders on the topics of femicide, homosexuality, civil unions and adoptions, the dancers staged a choreography of tension and oppression: they tugged at each other, tried to suffocate each other, dressed one of them in a suit and tie, in a crescendo of symbolic violence.
These are the words spoken by Romina Falconi at the end of the performance, visible in the video, preceded by statements from Italian politicians.
General Vannacci:
“Femicide does not exist because a crime is not more or less serious based on the sex, skin color or religion of those who commit it or those who suffer it”, “I spoke about the fact that homosexuals are not born if there was a scientist, a geneticist, a researcher who found this genome we could change our minds”, “What I instead criticized are the prevarications of the minorities towards the majorities”, “If they go on the road they can safely drive, if they go to the hospital they will be treated”, “The unions civil rights are fine with me, so what would be the other rights that these people lack”
Giorgia Meloni:
“Motherhood is not for sale”, “That children are not over-the-counter products that you can choose from on the shelf as if you were in the supermarket and maybe return if the product doesn't correspond to what you expected”
Matteo Salvini: “Never gay adoptions in my country, never”, “The child comes into the world if there is a mother and a father”
In the background, the music of his latest single, I am happy. After the audio ends, Falconi he broke the silence with a direct intervention, claiming the role of the community and attacking the hypocrisy of those who spread hatred by masking it as a defense of values.
Yes, we are the transvestites, the jesters, the sideshows, but we have chosen this role to say “you are not alone, you are not wrong”.
And instead there are people who put on masks to deceive, who say that Italy needs children, but if you don't conceive them as they say it is a universal crime; who say that every nation has the right to its own identity, but then say nothing if one country destroys another. These are the things that are scary…
The dedication to Mirko and I'm happy
To close the performance, a part of I am happyexplicitly dedicated to Mirko. A song that speaks of transformed pain, of a happiness reclaimed despite everything, and which at the end calls the boy by name.
I got the worst from the world
and I even liked it
I didn't deserve my sensitivity
Now look at what I've done here
For happiness
Look, I'm happy
and look at the peace here
Because I want to take everything away from you
Also proof that I loved you so much
But I am happy, who has ever seen peace
if everything around me collapses again
Mirko, you know what I do… I admire the sky
With the two interventions of Aiello And Romina FalconiThe Milan Pride 2026 linked its twenty-fifth anniversary edition to a news story that brought the very meaning of the event back to the center: everyone's right to be themselves without paying the price.
