This year, the Red Umbrella March celebrates 20 years of history with the release of a video slideshow which traces its origins from the 49th International Venice Biennale Arte in 2001, where red umbrella symbol was first used by sex workers. On this occasion, Triple-X Workers’ Solidarity Association of British Columbia released a video with protest marches of sex workers, including public protests of sex workers in Skopje, Vancouver, Venice and Brussels over the years.
The first march, organized by sex workers community in North Macedonia was organized in 2008, with about 20 sex workers taking part. The very first marched has started in front of the building of the National Macedonian TV, where is the open scene where sex workers are offering their services. This place still functions as an open (street) sex work scene. Тhe first three years, (2008-2010), the sex workers’ marches were symbolic and took place without the presence of the media, and this was due to the fear of sex workers going public. But year after year, this event has become increasingly visible and we are now proudly marching in the center of Skopje. The number of sex workers, activists, supporters, and friends has been increasing over the years, as well as the sex workers who are leading the march.