As a result, Spain has today transformed into one of the most gay friendly countries in the world, with very progressive LGBTQ laws, including gay marriage. The first Madrid Pride took place in 1979 following the passing away of Fascist dictator Francisco Franco, which led to a huge renaissance of democracy and liberal values in Spain. The largest was WorldPride Madrid 2017, which had an estimated 3.5 million people attend. The “Fiestas del Orgullo Gay” of Madrid takes place on the last Saturday of June each year and it is the biggest in Europe, attracting around 2 million people each year. Madrid (Spain): best Pride in EuropeĮvery European gay guy knows that Madrid Pride is the best place to celebrate Pride each year (at least it is according to these 2 European gay guys!) The Stonewall Inn in New York: where Pride was born back in 1969 2. Others include the Prides of Chicago (end of June), Columbus (mid-June), Houston (mid-June), Los Angeles (early June), Minneapolis (mid-June), Denver (mid-June), the Capital Pride in Washington DC (end of May/early June), San Diego (mid-June), St Petersburg (mid-June) and Miami Beach Pride (early April).
San Francisco Pride is the other notable giant taking place alongside New York's Pride on the last weekend of June. There are Pride events taking place in almost every city across the US, with a handful also attracting millions of people.
The 2019 New York World Pride, which also commemorates 50 years since the Stonewall riots, is set to be the largest Pride event ever with around 4 million people estimated to attend! Other notable Pride events in the US Today the New York Pride on the last weekend of June is one of the largest in the world, attracting crowds of around 2 million. This became the catalyst for LGBTQ movements across the US in 1970, and then around the world. Following the police raid of the gay Stonewall Inn on 28 June 1969, the LGBTQ community said “ENOUGH!” and started a serious of demonstrations led by drag queen Marsha Johnson. New York is where the Pride movement was born. In this article, we celebrate the 10 best gay Pride events from around the world, which we think are the most unique and important.īonus mention: London Pride 1.
#First gay pride parade in the world full#
Today Pride events are not only an important way to celebrate who we are, but they act as a crucial symbol to LGBTQ communities around the world to show we are not alone and we are fighting together for full equality and recognition everywhere. What's worse is that in 7 of these, the governments actively impose the capital punishment for consensual gay acts, specifically: Brunei, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan. There are over 70 countries in the world where being gay is an illegal crime. Whilst we are fortunate to come from a part of Europe (UK/France) where being gay means we have almost the same rights as our straight counterparts, sadly there still exist many places where simply being gay can get you the capital punishment. Gay Pride events are as important now as they have ever been.