In July 2005, 120 members of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus toured Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. In Berlin, the chorus sang for 400,000 at gay pride and in Prague raised money and awareness for domestic partnership legislation. In Poland, the BGMC was the first openly gay group to ever perform in that country and its concert in Wroclaw created an international incident. The concert was targeted by a right wing group that tried to prevent the concert by occupying the concert hall and via a hate-filled protest that tried to block the audience from attending. The Chorus persevered and performed the concert under armed police guard to a full house,raising funds for a youth HIV program. Coverage of the event appeared in more than 50 newspapers and TV stations throughout central Europe in which the BGMC was proclaimed for singing music that triumphed over intolerance.
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