Is gay pride month celebrated in other countries? Where are some of the biggest events?

Pride month has begun, with celebrations planned in different parts of the world. Two of the largest events in the US traditionally take place in New York and San Francisco.

While the events in the US may be the most well known to Americans, there are plenty of other places in the world which host huge parties for Pride. Check out some of the biggest here.

São Paolo

The Brazilian city only hosted its first pride back in 1997, but can now boast more than 3 million participants every year, making it the largest pride event in the world.

The parade is the second largest event of the city, after the Grand Prix Formula One Brazil. Sao Paulo Gay Pride always takes place on the Sunday after the Corpus Christi annual holiday.

Madrid

Madrid hosts the largest pride celebration in Europe. The first pride celebration in the city was hosted in 1978, three years after the end of the Francisco Franco dictatorship. In 2019, nearly 2 million people were present at the pride march. One of Madrid’s barrios (districts), Chueca, is the center of the gay community in the city and the metro stop in the area is decked out with LGBTQ+ art.

Berlin

The Berlin event is hosted annually and coincides with the Stonewall riots anniversary in the US. The German city is well known for its liberal social attitudes, which is evident in the number of alternative nightclubs in the city.

Techno music is the most popular nightclub scene in Berlin, a genre which has deep-rooted links to the LGBTQ+ community.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam pride is typically later than other pride events, taking place during the first week of August. This is because the event did not begin as a protest march for LGBTQ+ rights in the Netherlands and more so as a celebration. The Netherlands is well known for its social acceptance of the community and was the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage.

Taipei

The largest city on the island of Taiwan hosts the largest pride event in Asia. It was the first Asian state to legalize gay marriage in 2019. The event will take place on the last Saturday of October.

Sydney

The biennial event WorldPride returned in 2023, and it brought the LGBTQ+ celebration to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time ever. The festival took place in the New South Wales state capital from February 17 to March 5. Sydney Pride is the earliest hosted event on this list. The main attraction is the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade in which multiple floats make their way up a 1.1 mile route.

The post parade event is typically a music event. This year, Australian star Kylie Minogue made an appearance.