This June brings a worldwide celebration of Pride Month, with the official 50-year anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, which started the modern LGBTQ pride movement as we know it. Across the world, LGBTQ+ people and allies will be celebrating gay pride, fighting for equality and infusing local culture into their Pride festivities and protests running throughout the summer. Add Pride to your itinerary, with these destination Pride events worth travelling for. [Photo courtesy Pride in London /Carol J Moir; teaser image John Banyard]
New York City, New York – Technically, the entire month of June in the birthplace of Pride is a Pride celebration, but the last weekend of the month brings out the biggest hits. Wednesday 26 June brings the official opening ceremony at the Barclays Center, with celebrity headliners like Chaka Khan and Whoopi Goldberg, followed by a Friday rally at Stonewall, Saturday’s youth pride for teens and Sunday’s enormous Pride Parade and PrideFest, a street fair packed with performers and vendors celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. With over three million people expected to attend, New York City Pride is sure to be hugely memorable.
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Provincetown
Provincetown, Massachusetts – Only in its second year, P-Town Pride is attractive for its newness: the celebration at Cape Cod’s queer vacation spot is still becoming what it will be, allowing celebrators to shape the experience of generations to come. Plus, beach time! Held the weekend of 31 May, Provincetown Pride will kick off with a special ferry ride and continue with events like a Global Rainbow laser show and the Sashay to Tea Dance, led by Provincetown’s drag queen community. [Photo: Dan McKeon]
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Mexico – Now in its fifth year, Guadalajara Pride will bring out tens of thousands of celebrators on 1 June to join in the parade and concert in one of Mexico’s most LGBTQ-friendly cities. Home to more LGBTQ bars and nightclubs than any other Mexican city, Guadalajara also boasts several LGBTQ-friendly hotels endorsed by the IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Tourism Association). Purple Roof member accommodations include Casa Alebrijes, Hotel Guadalajara, Casa Rayon, Old Guadalajara B&B, Casa Venezuela, Las Sabilas Garden Guesthouse, La Perla Boutique B&B, Dickinson Guest House and Casa Canario.
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Taipei
Taipei, Taiwan – One of Asia’s largest Pride events is held on the last Saturday of October annually, meaning you have plenty of time to recover from summer Pride fatigue and start all over again. As the country poised to become Asia’s first to legalise same-sex marriage, Taiwan’s 2019 Pride celebration will certainly be historic. The four-day event brings together over 80,000 people, who join together in multiple parties, a parade and a gathering in the Gay Pride Village, ie. Pride Taipei’s pop-up HQ.
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California – Hosted after this desert oasis (known for its substantial LGBTQ population) cools down from the summer heat, the home to Coachella Music Festival hosts another celebration worth travelling for in autumn. The weekend of 1-3 November brings out the greater Palm Springs area to celebrate Pride with an outdoor street festival and daytime parade, all supplemented by countless parties at Palm Springs’ bars and dance clubs.
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Paris
Paris, France – Referred to as La Marche des Fiertés LGBT (rather than just “Pride”), this annual celebration dates back over 40 years, when Parisians started marching together to fight for LGBTQ equality and and protest a lack of rights. Now, the march still fights against sexuality and gender discrimination, and is one of few major metropolitan Pride celebrations that is not overly corporate and commercial. Bystanders – and anyone who wants to – can join in throughout the parade route. Held on 28 June, Pride in Paris makes for a great weekend getaway, with supplementary celebrations held throughout the City of Light. [Photo: Jedrek B/Flickr]
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Austin
Austin, Texas – For a lively, festive Pride celebration in the United States, look no further than a college town. Hosted in early August, just when students are returning to campus, Austinites of all ages celebrate Pride with a festival and parade that indeed keeps Austin weird. Hosted on 10 August 2019, over 400,000 attendees will come out dressed in rainbow attire in the peak of summer heat, ready to celebrate and party by the Colorado River.
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, Argentina – An entire week in November is dedicated to LGBTQ Pride events in one of Latin America’s top gay-friendly cities. As one of few South American nations with progressive marriage laws and gender identity laws, the Argentinian capital has a lot to celebrate – culminating in the Marcha Del Orgullo, a Pride march dating back to 1992, which aims for more visibility for Argentina’s LGBTQ population. Also in November: The Asterisco Film Festival and the Queer Tango Festival, making Pride a fantastic time to soak up local culture.
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska – The biggest Pride festival in all of Alaska (which is also America’s largest state) takes place on 29 June, the peak of Alaska’s tourist season. Anchorage’s 42-years-strong annual PrideFest is a family-friendly community celebration that incorporates two live stages, 150+ vendors, big-name headliners (like RuPaul’s Drag Race star Thorgy Thor), a beer garden and more. The entire week is full of community events, and Anchorage is the perfect starting point for a larger Alaskan summertime adventure. [Photo: Mel Green/Flickr]
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Providence
Providence, Rhode Island – This quaint New England town will usher in its 44th annual RI Pride festival on Saturday, 15 June. Beyond the gorgeous seaside views around town, the big draw to this celebration is the After-Dark Illuminated Parade, one of the only after-hours Pride parades in the country. Over 60,000 people typically visit Providence for Pride weekend, to participate in this unique night as well as cultural LGBTQ events all weekend. Later this summer, Providence’s LGBTQ Film Festival will showcase independent films and offer seminars, expanded walks and tours, outdoor screenings and more from 6-11 August.
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls, South Dakota – This unexpected rural Pride festival has nearly tripled in size over the past four years, from the standard 4,000 people in attendance to greater than 10,000 now expected. This small-town community Pride event is less overwhelming than the massive city celebrations, but LGBTQ+ talent from across America still travel to South Dakota to celebrate here. On 15 June, the family-friendly festival will highlight artists, musicians and drag performers from the Midwest and beyond, as well as peddling local food and promoting artisan vendors to help support the community.
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12 Pride Events Worth Travelling For.
London
London, England – This hub of UK Pride hosts events throughout June and July, with London’s major parade falling on 6 July. The parade swirls throughout the city, lasting all afternoon for revellers to observe and join in. Several after-parties will follow, including a show at Troxy with the Spice Girls’ Mel C headlining. Leading up to the parade, events like drag bingo and a cabaret competition will help ring in the spirit of Pride month. [Photo courtesy Pride in London/Carol J Moir]
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