13 Biggest Gay Pride Parades in the World

In this article, we are going to list the 13 largest gay pride parades in the world. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 largest gay pride parades in the world. Gay pride parades are also called pride marches, pride events, and pride celebrations. It normally includes a series of occasions and frequently includes a parade including marchers and vivid floats from the LGBTQ people group and its supporters. These parades are outside occasions organized for celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, non-binary, and queer (LGBTQ) self-acknowledgment, accomplishments, lawful rights, and pride.

These events additionally now and again fill in as demonstrations for lawful rights, for example, same-sex marriage. Most pride occasions happen yearly, and many occur around June to celebrate the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, which started in the early hours of June 28, 1969, after police attacked the Stonewall Inn bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village area. The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar that was famous with many different individuals in the gay community including transvestites, effeminate youngsters, transgender individuals, and destitute youth. Even though the LGBTQ people group had stood up against police discrimination in a few other small events before, in the late1960s in urban communities like San Francisco and L.A., the Stonewall incident cut through in an unprecedented way. This event is considered crucial for the development of present-day LGBTQ social movements.

Before the Stonewall riots, LGBTQ people had commonly not disclosed their sexual orientation or personality, but this occasion aroused the gay community and started more noteworthy political activism on gay rights development. In 1970, on the first anniversary of the event, hundreds of demonstrators walked along Greenwich Village’s Christopher Street, which runs past the Stonewall, in what many consider the principal Gay Pride walk. Besides, those different celebrations were additionally held that year. Early Gay Pride events also called Freedom Day or Gay Liberation Day were attended in small numbers and protests were held against them. In 1978 what is maybe the most-perceived image of Gay Pride made its presentation at the event organized in San Francisco where the first rainbow banner was seen. The banner, with its eight tones represented important themes. Hot pink represented sexuality, red represented life, healing represented by orange, the Sun by yellow, nature by green, art by blue, harmony by indigo, and violet represents spirit. The next year a six-shade banner, which is used widely and embraced around the world was presented. This flag used red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple/violet.

The purpose of these parades is to make local communities honor the historical backdrop of the movement. The early parades usually centered around members’ individual freedom, the variety of the LGBTQ people, and is pleased to be out of the closet which is a term used to representing accepting one’s true sexual orientation. In the mid-1970s, the energy was amassed in a little region of Christopher Street in New York City’s West Village. At that point, it was the uncommon neighborhood where gay individuals could proceed to meet out in the open, and Pride parades worked at a neighborhood area level size in comparison to the 5 million individuals who went to last July’s World Pride event in New York City, the biggest LGBTQ festivity ever.

By the 1980s political and social activism had gotten integral to pride occasions, and a large number of the marchers held placards and signs that raised the social issues of the day. As acknowledgment of LGBTQ people group expanded among the straight people, political leaders who supported the LGBTQ people group, and gay-friendly businesses and enterprises started participating in these parades. The number of people including gay and straight people increased and pride occasions were held in numerous parts of the globe. Such events faced opposition in countries like Jerusalem, Moscow, and Warsaw. In other countries like Amsterdam, Chicago, London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and São Paulo, pride occasions generally draw in a few hundred thousand to more than a million. These gay friendly businesses include Dell (NYSE:DELL), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) , Nike (NYSE:NKE), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Toyota (NYSE:TM) among many others.

Despite the aforementioned advances for the LGBTQ community, a lot more still needs to be done. Despite many countries normalizing these communities, many people still face discrimination every day in their lives which should not be happening in 2021. But even this pales in comparison to the treatment meted out to these people in most Asian and Africa countries, where LGBTQ people are derided and treated as second class citizens, while in many Muslim countries, gay acts are actually punishable by death. While few countries have actually carried out death sentences, just the fact that these laws exist are something which needs to be worked on. The reason why Muslim countries are against these communities is because Islam has declared same sex acts as a major sin and hence, believers of the religion aren’t quite as tolerant of the beliefs and acts of other citizens.

EuroPride is an event organized to celebrate LGBTQ pride, hosted by an alternate European city every year. For as long as a month, various artistic, basic human rights events are organized all through the host city. EuroPride includes a pride march that is attended by hundreds of thousands of people. Madrid’s EuroPride 2007 was attended by almost 2.5 million individuals from all over the world. This enormous participation wasn’t just a triumph for Madrid, but for the entire Spanish LGBT people. Many such parades and events are organized all over the world every year.

In a year when the Covid has forestalled large get-togethers, and many pride occasions have been dropped or delayed, more than 500 Pride and LGBTQIA+ people group associations from 91 nations will still be a part of Global Pride on June 27. However, throughout these years, pride parades have advanced in a way that goes beyond the number of members attending them. Following are the 13 biggest pride parades ever organized in terms of estimates made by authorities on basis of people who attended them.

13. Toronto, Canada 2012:

People attendance estimation: 1.2 million

Pride Toronto is a yearly occasion held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June every year. It is one of the biggest coordinated gay pride celebrations in the world, including live entertainers and DJs, a huge Dyke March, a Trans March, and the Pride Parade. The focal point of the celebration is the city’s Church and Wellesley town, while the procession and walks are fundamentally routed along with nearby Yonge Street, Gerrard Street, and Bloor Street. In 2014, the occasion filled in as the fourth global WorldPride and was a lot bigger than standard Toronto Prides. The occasion is coordinated by Pride Toronto which is a non-profit association.

12. Cologne, Germany 2002

People attendance estimation: 1.4 million

Cologne Gay Pride began during the 1980s as a small event, Christopher Street Day. It was named after the Stonewall riots on Christopher Street in New York City. Due to liberal political culture in then West Germany the Christopher Street Day developed into one of the greatest festival occasions in Germany. Cologne Gay Pride includes the city gay pride parade, and seven days of various celebrations, parties, and political discussions to achieve equal rights and gay rights. In 2002 Cologne Pride was additionally Europride.

11. Madrid, Spain 2019

People attendance estimation: 1.6 million

The Madrid 2019 Gay Pride Parade was one of its most politically charged marches in recent years. The parade was joined by countless individuals mobilizing under the message “not one step back” protesting against the far-right political party Vox, which was trying to move back LGBTQ rights. As indicated by coordinators, around 1.6 million individuals went to the yearly parade, which left from the Paseo del Prado road at 6.30 pm. The parade was led by the original LGBTQ activists, to respect the pioneers who won more noteworthy rights under the Spanish dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

10. Madrid, Spain 2016

People attendance estimation: 1.6

Madrid Gay Pride, or Orgullo, is one of the city’s most enthusiastically anticipated occasions. Likewise, with comparable occasions in different nations, Orgullo started as a positive stance against the oppression of the LGBT people group. The Pride Parade is Europe’s greatest event. Including many colorfully decorated floats, it starts at 6 pm on July 2.

9. San Francisco, California 2014

People attendance estimation: 1.7 million

San Francisco Pride is a parade and celebration held toward the end of June every year in San Francisco, California, to praise the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) individuals and their partners. The 49th anniversary of this event in San Francisco was celebrated in 2019. Every year it is held on Sunday morning of the Festival. The course is typically west along San Francisco’s Market Street, from Steuart Street to Eighth Street and it runs from 10:30 am until 4:00 pm. Members line up the parade route ahead of time at the beginning of the procession.

8. NYC, USA 2015

People attendance estimation: 2.1 million

The NYC Pride Parade is one of the biggest Pride Parades every year. In 2015, the procession, which makes it route down Fifth Avenue from Midtown until heading into the Village and turning towards Christopher Street and the Stonewall Inn was full of gay and straight people celebrating the Supreme Court decision to make same-sex marriage lawful wherever in the U.S. Numerous marchers expressed their support for their transexual kids, as well.

7. Sao Paulo, Brazil 2006

People attendance estimation: 2.5 million

The São Paulo LGBTQ Pride Parade is a yearly gay pride march that has occurred in Avenida Paulista, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, since 1997. It is South America’s biggest Pride parade and is recorded by Guinness World Records as the greatest pride march on the planet beginning in 2006.

6. Sao Paulo, Brazil 2016

People attendance estimation: 2.3 million

In 2016 the Gay Pride Celebration in Sao Paulo was one of the largest pride parades celebrated in Sao Paulo. For a whole month, the authorities offered a rich blend of occasions to the individuals who joined in from discussions, plays, music shows, dance exhibitions, social fairs, and the annual Pride Parade.

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