During the Stonewall Riots in 1969, Brenda Howard — aka Mother Pride — coordinated the first LGBT pride march and suggested a week of events around Pride. This week morphed into a month (because, really, who gets tired of queering?), and since then, June has become the time for the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate the fight for their freedom.
The most common demonstration of the month-long celebration is rainbows everywhere and on everything, but that's mostly as far as the cishets take it. The gays, however, hold parades, festivals and other tasteful community events like poetry readings, street parties and symposiums. All over the world, the gays assemble, revelling in the kind of cheer that you find only in the company of other queer people.
Some locations — unfortunately — don't have as much queersmas spirit, not for lack of queers, but because it might as well still be the early 60s over there. We still have to fight simply to exist, which makes celebrating nearly impossible.
As hard as it is, though, I have to focus on the bright side: this month, for the entire month in some places, rainbow flags fly nearly as high as queer spirits, and on special parade days, it's celebration galore. Here are the locations of the biggest pride parades of 2022:
1. Toronto, Canada
In Toronto, pride lasts all month, but the annual custom of a concluding festival and parade runs from the 24th to the 26th of June. There’ll be performances by hundreds of artists who are LGBT and every other kind of queer you can think of. Visit this website for information on activities and accommodation.
2. New York City, USA
Pride parades are held in many US cities, but New York is one of the top spots, with up to half a million attendees. Here, the celebration lasts all month, while the parade will be held on the 26th of June. Other major anticipated events are The Conference and Bliss Days. For information regarding news, hotels, even transportation and more, check out the NYC Pride website.
3. Paris, France
Dubbed Marche Des Fiertés, the French Pride March will take place this year on the 25th of June. Last year, for health reasons, the march had to happen without floats and stages; not exactly a parade, unfortunately. This year, though, there’ll be all the festivities with up to five checkpoints between the departure and arrival points. Check here for more information.
4. Metro Manila, Philippines
This free for all annual event will take place on the 25th of June this year. The organisers expressly acknowledge that the march is as much a protest as it is a celebration. As it is mainly volunteer-run, you can learn how not only to show up but also contribute here.
5. Zurich, Switzerland
Dedicating an entire week to Pride, the Swiss queers begin partying and other celebratory events on the 17th of June, and the big parade holding on the 18th. It’ll be held just at the shore of Lake Zurich, and there promises to be fantastic food and drinks. Visit this website for more. (It’s translatable on most updated browsers.)
6. Dublin, Ireland
Pride Village and YEARS & YEARS (opening party by Mother) are the major highlights of this year’s Dublin pride. While the entire festival lasts from the 22nd to the 26th of June, the march and parade take place on the 25th. For route, ticket information and more, visit this site.
7. Mexico City, Mexico
With over one million estimated attendees, the main parade is on the 25th, while the entire pride celebration lasts a week, from the 20th to the 26th of June. There will be many parties, the most anticipated of which is arguably the all-nighter in the Zocalo. Because of the expected crowd, you want to be sure you make plans early.
8. Athens, Greece
Athens Pride this year will be held throughout the city from the 10th of June to the 18th. The parade at Syntagma Square will start at 7 PM on the last day, and there'll be a concert. On the other days, events will range from exhibitions to short film shows. Visit the cute website for more information.
9. Tel Aviv, Israel
The gay capital of the middle east will hold its pride events between the 8th and 12th of June, with its much-anticipated parade on the 10th of June. Some of the world’s biggest artists will be performing amidst the incredible floats, and gorgeous attendees made up of locals and tourists alike. For packages and plans, go here.
10. São Paulo, Brazil
This pride destination holds a business world record of up to five million participants from 2006 to 2016, and it's still one of the most prominent pride month destinations in the world. This year, celebrations start on the 15th of June, with the official parade on the 19th. Check out the program, accommodation choices and much more on this site.
