Pride parades are a major part of LGBTQ+ pride celebrations, with events occurring across the globe. Usually, these parades take place during the summer, with Pride Cymru taking place during the August bank holiday. Sadly, last year’s events were largely cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, here are some of the most successful Pride events around the world…
In 2020, one country managed to hold the biggest Pride event in the world. Taiwan, where the Coronavirus has been contained outside of the country’s borders, has declared public gatherings safe. The 2020 Pride Parade in Taipei was one of the only parades to have taken place in the past year, with 130,000 people attending the event, celebrating the country’s recent legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2019.
Pride in Taipei 2020.
The biggest pride event in Asia is typically not in Taiwan, but rather on the other side of the continent – in Israel. Around 260,000 people attend the annual pride parades in Tel Aviv, which first took place in 1993 as a political parade to demand LGBTQ+ rights. Today, the events are more oriented towards entertainment and celebration.
Iceland may be a small country, but it holds a large amount of pride! Around one-third of the country’s population is estimated to attend the Pride parades in Reykjavík. The biggest event in the Nordic region, however, is Stockholm Pride. Around 600,000 people take part in this Swedish parade, and each year, a designer creates an accessory to accompany the event.
The biggest event in Europe is said to be Madrid Pride. Since 2005, when same-sex marriage was legalised in Spain, there has been an increase in interest in the event. Madrid is now known as the European Capital of Pride for this reason, which sees around two million people out on the streets during Pride Week.
If you’re not in the mood to walk all day, the Canal Parade in Amsterdam might float your boat. Around half a million people sail down the Amstel River, waving flags in decorated boats, marking the end of the Gay Pride Week. Elsewhere in the Dutch city, there are also street parties, exhibitions and sports events.
In 2006, São Paulo broke the world record for the biggest pride parade, seeing 2.5 million attendees. Though Brazil still holds the biggest parades in South America, WorldPride 2019 in New York City is the largest Pride to have taken place in history, with four million attendees; the event marking the 50-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
In fact, Pride parades originally started as commemoration of the Stonewall Riots, where LGBTQ+ people demonstrated in response to a police raid on a gay club, serving to push forward the movement towards LGBTQ+ equality. Today, as well as remembering the riots, Pride parades celebrate the achievements and promote acceptance of LGBTQ+ people.
