By Amanda Little
Pride marches around the world, following rainbow colored flags and celebratory festivities. Many cities have their own Pride Parades, usually in June (Pride month), and while the dates vary slightly from year to year, the festivities only get bigger and better!
Want to experience some of the best Pride parades in the world? Keep reading!
Madrid
Madrid hosts the largest gay pride parade in Spain and is also among the biggest parades in Europe. The Orgullo LGBT, or LGBT Pride, parade features art, open-air concerts, performances, parties, and much more. The parade itself marches through the Chueca neighborhood from 6pm to 11pm and finishes off at Puerta de Alcala, where activists come together to speak on important issues among the LGBT community. The Plaza de Chueca in downtown Madrid also hosts performances throughout the weekend, and the Plaza Colon keeps the party going for those who want to celebrate all night.
Toronto
Toronto is home to the biggest annual Pride event in Canada. The festivities run from the intersection of Bloor Street and Church Street all the way to Yonge-Dundas Square, which is a little over a mile long! Spectators can see colorful floats, musical celebrations, dancing, drag queens, and cheering LGBT people and allies. Toronto was host to WorldPride in 2014, and the celebrations earned the title of the biggest Pride celebration in North America, which lasted 10 days!
Dublin
Dublin proudly hosts the largest LGBTQ+ Pride parade in Ireland and is held every year on the last Saturday of June, though there are weeklong activities to be enjoyed. Explore the colorful highlights of Ireland as you soak in the extravagent rainbow outfits and floats sashaying with the parade, and immerse yourself in the friendliness of the Emerald Isle as it celebrates diversity and inclusion.
San Francisco
San Francisco hosts the second largest LGBT Pride Parade in the world, lingering just behid Sao Paulo. With more than 20 stages, pop-up venues, and thousands of people moving through the Castro District, the parade draws people from all over as they march a mile down Market street. The festivities start between 10:30 and 11 in the morning, and the million or so people dancing through the streets lasts all day.
London
Join London at Baker Street and march with pride down to Whitehall, through Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, and Trafalgar Square. Live entertainment follow the route and flags fly as spectators cheer like it’s a soccer match. Floats make their way past community stalls and engaging activities. Be sure to make your way to Trafalgar Square as well for more entertainment as many acts take up the main stage.
Berlin
What was once a few hundred people gathered in solidarity in 1979 is now a full-blown week-long extravaganza known as Berlin Christopher Street Day. The LGBT community and its supporters take part in the festivities that command the attention of the city, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts and plenty of partying. Held in honor of the Stonewall Riots, as a protest for all parts of societal discrimination, and of course as a huge celebration for the LGBT community, hundreds of thousands of people come to celebrate and cheer on the performers taking part in the parade. Even with some heavier themes, this amazing event essentially turns into a city-wide party.
Paris
Join Paris for their Marche des Fiertes LGBT, or their version of a pride parade. Follow the festivities through Place de la Concorde and pass by landmarks like the Louvre, the Ministry of Justice, through the center of Chatelet-les-Halles and end at the Place de la Republique, all to make a statement about discrimination in the best way possible, with love. At the end of the parade there are concerts and the grand podium, which continues on into the night.
Amsterdam
Take part in the week-long Gay Pride celebration that rages through Amsterdam’s streets. Clubs overspill and the partying continues into the streets, the Drag Queen Olympics are in session, and the spectacular Canal Parade draws over 300,000 onlookers. As one of the city’s largest annual festivals, the city embraces the rainbow flag with pride as themed boats overflowing with dancers and music make their way through the canals of the city with spectacular showmanship.
New York City
New York City is known as being where the Pride movement began, starting with the Stonewall Inn Riots in June 1969 when the LGBTQ+ community fought back to end discrimination. The NYC Pride parade is now one of the largest in the world, with millions of people in attendance every year and a variety of other marches, parties, and events collectively happening, such as the popular Dyke March the day before Pride.
Sao Paulo
Make your way to the city that holds the title of the world’s biggest pride parade, where more than three million people from around the world joined in a massive, rainbow-bedazzled celebration. In 2017, they broke their previous record, and held a pride parade attended by five million. Party hard while seeing amazing sites in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where stunning floats infused with their cultural flair bring pride to the city streets. The electrifying music and exhilarating dancing make this celebration wild and freeing. The parade route runs about two and a half miles around the city center, putting costumed dancers and cheering partygoers on display for all to see and enjoy.
Sydney
Dance down the streets of Sydney in the gay and lesbian Mardi Gras parade, their version of gay pride. The parade is the peak of a month-long festival devoted to equality, pride, and diversity, and everyone goes all out. Major singers, musical performances, all-night dance parties, fabulous floats, and a menagerie of rainbow costumes make their way through the city. International pop stars have shown up to this event that draws in hundreds of thousands of onlookers, and the partying begins at 10pm and carries on usually past 8am the next day. Unlike most prides though, Sydney hosts theirs in either February or March. It's perfect Summer weather for going to the beach as it is summer down under in Australia.
