See how the world honors diverse identities, love, and LGBTQ+ rights.
Typically held in June, Pride Month celebrations coincide with the 1969 Stonewall riots, a historic uprising in the United States which became a defining event for the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Today, we express our pride and support for the movement through large celebrations such as parades and festivals. These are some of the biggest events worldwide, attended by millions of people.
READ ALSO: History Of The Rainbow: Pride Month Explained
NYC Pride March
Following the Stonewall riots in 1969, gay rights activists proposed an annual march to be held in New York City on the last Saturday of June. Decades later, the city’s Pride March is the largest in North America and one of the biggest in the world.
In 2019, an estimate of four million people attended the parade to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The 12-hour parade, which traverses through Lower Manhattan, included 150,000 participants that year.
This year’s theme is “Reflect. Empower. Unite.” NYC Pride has also announced that Baddie Brooks, DaShawn Usher, Eshe Ukwell, Michelle Visage, Miss Major, Robin Drake, and Raquel Willis will be the Grand Marshals for the march.
São Paulo Gay Pride Parade
In South America, São Paulo, Brazil holds the biggest event for the queer community. In 2006, the Guinness World Records named it the world’s largest Pride parade with 2.5 million people in attendance. They broke the record again in 2009 with four million attendees.
Brazil’s Gay Pride Parade has been taking place in Avenida Paulista since 1997. For this year’s event, the organizers encouraged attendees to wear green and yellow, representing their country’s flag.
“We will march this afternoon to take back our flag and to show that Brazil will be better, it will be queer, butch, trans,” said Erika Hilton, an openly transgender member of congress.
Madrid Pride
One of Europe’s biggest Pride events is held in Madrid, Spain. The festival takes place in the Chueca neighborhood in the center of Madrid. In 2017, they celebrated the 40th anniversary of Spain’s first Pride parade with an estimated 3.5 million attendees.
Madrid’s Pride events start on June 28 and will culminate with the parade on July 6. The parade will feature massive floats from different companies, associations, political parties, and more.
Ending at the Plaza de Colón, there will be a stage to welcome participants with music and the reading of the manifesto of freedom, inclusion, and diversity.
Pride Toronto
Pride Toronto is one of the largest gatherings of the LGBTQ+ community in the world, with around 2.4 million participants last year. The festival’s main events include the Trans March, the Dyke March, and the Pride parade.
“As we unveil the theme ‘Be______’ for Pride Toronto 2024, we invite everyone to join us in celebrating the right to be united in our fight for existence and acceptance. Pride Month is more than a celebration; it’s a declaration of our collective identity and resilience,” said Pride Toronto’s executive director Kojo Modeste.
This year’s celebrations feature musical guests, drag performances, educational programs, parties, and more. The festival weekend takes place on June 28 to 30.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride and Taiwan Pride
In Asia, the Pride events in Tokyo and Taipei both gathered around 200,000 attendees in 2019, making them the largest in the continent. This was the same year Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage, becoming the first Asian country to do so.
Tokyo’s Rainbow Pride festival began on April 19 with the parade taking place on the 21st. This year was the 30th anniversary of Japan’s inaugural Pride Parade. The event took place in Yoyogi Park which was filled with festival booths held by LGBTQ+ organizations, businesses, and support groups.
Meanwhile, Taiwan Pride will take place later in the year, from October 24 to 27. The first formal Taiwan Pride happened in 2003 and was attended by more than 20,000 people from various groups.
Banner photo by Elvis Yang via Pexels.
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