LGBTQ+ communities around the world are celebrating and parading their pride throughout the summer.
Pride 2022 is one of the biggest phenomena of the summer. After two years of limited capacity for gatherings, the LGBTQ+ communities worldwide are joining together to parade their rainbow colors on the streets of every city — from Zagreb to London. Some of the biggest pride parades this year are in New York, Copenhagen, Madrid, and Paris.
Although June is technically pride month because it marks the remembrance of the Stonewall Uprising — the series of protests and riots between the police and the gay community in the U.S. that led to modern gay rights today — the festivities last all summer long. From May to August, pride celebrations will take place in all major cities and tiny towns and villages worldwide. Love is love, so let’s dive into the biggest festivals of the season and the ones yet to come. June may be over, but pride is never-ending.
New York City Pride
June 26th marked the New York City pride parade that attracted thousands this year. With the U.S.’ current tension-filled political state, the maintenance of LGBTQ+ rights is essential now more than ever. NYC pride’s mission is to combat discrimination and ensure equality under the law for the queer community. This mission statement is felt simultaneously by other countries as well, and it points to the greater significance of the extent of these celebrations every year.
European Pride
Europe’s majestic and historical capitals are keeping up with the current times with parades just as grand and pride just as strong as in the Americas. Many of these celebrations have already occurred in June but are taking July by storm. One of the largest parades in Europe is in Madrid. Madrid, a city known that has become known for its extreme inclusivity and openness to the queer community over the last decade, hosted their parade on July 9th along one of the most prominent streets in the center of town. According to the Globetrotter guys, a traveling gay couple, Madrid is the place that “stole their hearts.” The city’s large open parks, lavish greenery, picturesque architecture, and exhilarating bar and food scene make it a perfect place for the gay community to parade in. The parade’s astonishing attendance record with over 2 million yearly makes it one of the most popular parades in Europe. Many also boast of the city’s extensive list of activities, competitions, and parties the week leading up to the parade.
Spain’s capital isn’t the only city beaming the multi-colored flags in July and August. Paris pride happened on June 25th and brought together over 90 organizations to fight for and celebrate LGBTQ rights. London pride occurred on July 2nd, marking the 50th anniversary of the U.K. pride parade. Additionally, the small city of Zagreb in Croatia, a town with only roughly 800,000 inhabitants, had its 21st pride march on June 4th. From Croatian pride to Spanish pride, an extraordinary number of European cities celebrated their parade in June and July, with many more to attend in the coming weeks.
Upcoming Parades
Copenhagen Pride is one of the biggest celebrations to look forward to this year. August 13th to the 20th marks Denmark’s biggest pride celebration. This organization recently made a statement on how they believe that gender identity is a social construct regarding the recent talks about gender on social media.
Shortly upcoming in July is Berlin Pride on July 23rd. Locals know this celebration as Christopher Street Day, a landmark that has been celebrated since 1979 and now has over one million participants.
Moreover, hundreds more pride parades are happening in July and August all over the world. It is nearly impossible to attend all of them, but the full calendar of these events includes local commemorations all the way to 12-hour long festivals. No matter where you find yourself this summer or if you belong to the LGBTQ+ community or not, attending any one of these parades shows support and love for a growing community fighting years of discrimination by embracing their own pride. The least anyone can do this summer is wave a rainbow flag in support.
