Tag Archives: Gay Pride Parade

Celebrate Your Pride With These 5 Pride Celebration Destinations

Whether you’ve already been to your fair share of Pride celebrations or you’re entertaining the thought of attending one for the very first time, there’s no doubt that you’re in for a fabulous time.

And there are definitely many exciting destinations to choose from, each celebrating the LGBT population in their own unique way.

With some celebrations only lasting the weekend and others holding non-stop parties for an entire week or sometimes even longer, there’s plenty of Pride partying to be had.

So if you’re looking to make your next Pride celebration a destination trip, here’s a look at some of the top locations you shouldn’t miss out on…


Pride Toronto (Canada)

It’s one of the largest Pride events in the world, with an estimated attendance reaching 1.2 million. Toronto is known for celebrating diversity, including its LGBT population. Pride festivities include glitzy, colorful costumes and dancers, just to name a few and lasts or 10 days.
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Sao Paulo Pride (Brazil)

Not to be outdone by Toronto, the Sao Paulo Pride became the largest Pride celebration according to the Guinness Book of World Records and typically sees upwards of over 2.5 million people attending. With plenty of color, culture, and music, you’re definitely in for a memorable Pride celebration in Sao Paulo.

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San Francisco Pride (USA)

As one of the world’s leaders of the Pride movement, this long time gay-friendly city in Northern California knows how to put on a Pride celebration. You’ll find hundreds of exhibitors and at least twenty community-run stages and venues throughout the celebration. The parade also passes through some historic areas known for its LGBT activist activity.

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Tel Aviv Pride Week (Israel)

Drag shows, great music, and the Tel Aviv Pride Parade are just a few of the over 50 events you’ll experience at Tel Aviv’s Pride Celebration. It doesn’t get much better than a week long Pride party…except maybe for the famous beach party at Gordon Beach to mark the end of the festivities.

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Amsterdam Gay Pride (Netherlands)

Amsterdam is famous for its laid back lifestyle and LGBT-friendly openness, so there’s no doubt the Dutch really know how to throw a Pride party. Expect all kinds of awesome festivities like the Drag Queen Olympics. The celebration is also known for its Canal Parade, where over 75 decorate boats sail along the city’s canal. It’s definitely a spectacle not to be missed!

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Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York are a few more great US Pride Celebrations destinations to consider, along with Madrid in Europe. Do you have your go to destination to celebrate your Pride? Let us know in the comments section and share with us why it’s a great place for celebrating all things LGBT!

Teenage Victim of Jerusalem Pride Attack Dies of Injuries

A hospital spokeswoman has confirmed that the teenage girl stabbed by an anti-gay extremist, Yishai Schlissel, in last week’s attack has died.

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Shira Banki, 16, was one of six people stabbed Thursday during a Jerusalem’s Pride parade.

Banki died of her injuries Sunday at Hadar Elboim of Hadassah hospital. Her organs will be donated.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, released a statement assuring Banki’s family that her killer would be brought to justice.

Shira was murdered because she bravely supported the principle that each one can live their life in honor and security. We will not allow this despicable killer to undermine the core values that Israeli society is based upon.

We contemptuously denounce his actions of hate and violence. We will do everything in our power to bring this killer to face justice.”

Schlissel was released three weeks ago after serving 10 years in prison for a previous attack at the same parade in 2005.

Upon being released, he had returned to his hometown, where he began distributing “hand-written pamphlets in which he called on ‘all Jews faithful to God’ to risk ‘beatings and imprisonment’ for the sake of preventing the parade.”

As an estimated 5,000 people gathered to mark the annual Pride celebration with a parade through the streets of Jerusalem, Schlissel approached marchers on Keren Hayesod Street and began screaming, then pulled a knife from his coat and began stabbing his victims.

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Haaretz notes that a police officer was able to tackle the suspect and arrest him.

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According to the newspaper Maariv, Schlissel wrote a letter ahead of the attack saying:

It is the obligation of every Jew to keep his soul from punishment and stop this giant desecration of God’s name next Thursday. Once again, the evildoers want to have a parade of sin and of all places, in Jerusalem — city of the king of kings blessed be he — in order to defile its holiness and desecrate its holy name on Thursday. They are always looking for ways to desecrate God’s name even more.”

In response to the stabbings, Israeli lawmaker Itzik Shmuli came out as gay in an op-ed published Friday in a Hebrew-language daily, Yedioth Ahronoth.

We cannot be silent any longer. We cannot be silent any longer because the knife is raised on the entire LGBT community — my community — and it won’t stop there. This is the time to fight the great darkness.”

Under heavy police protection, the Jerusalem Open House – which also runs the city’s LGBT community centre – held a mass peace rally in Jerusalem city centre on Saturday night.

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Under the slogan “Love Alway Wins” the rally is being held to promote tolerance and acceptance in the wake of the attack.

Sarah Kala, Executive Director of Jerusalem Open House, said:

We are here in Jerusalem, and we will stay in Jerusalem. Against violence – we will protest, against incitement – we will educate, against hatred – we will love.”

Leading ultra-orthodox leaders have since spoken out to condemn the attacks, with Israel’s Chief Rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef asking the Jewish people to stand together in “kindness and tolerance.”

Lau said

The Torah of the Jewish people forbids all violence and [efforts to] injure any person, and especially someone who tries to kill another person.”

Yosef added

It’s unthinkable that a man can lift up his hand against another Jewish soul in the name of religion. I am praying from the bottom of my heart for the full recovery of those who were injured, and in the face of this type of hatred I call on the entire Jewish people to return to unity in kindness and tolerance.”

Thousands Expected to Attend Brighton Pride (Including Ruby Rose)

Organisers are saying that some 160,000 people are expected to attend Brighton and Hove for the 25th annual Pride event today.

The parade, including dance troupes, drag queens and campaigning groups and other organisations, will start at Hove Lawns.

The colourful procession, starting at about 11:00 BST, will arrive in Preston Park a couple of hours later.

Road closures will affect bus routes and other traffic in the area.

In previous years, the parade has set off from Madeira Drive.

The LGBT parade, on the theme of Carnival of Diversity, will make its way from Hove Lawns, along King’s Road before joining the previous route of West Street, North Street and London Road.

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Paul Kemp, the director of Pride Brighton, said:

It’s a celebration and it brings in a lot of people from all over the world. Economically, it’s very good for the city and brings in £3.5m. Behind the celebrations it highlights LGBT campaigns all over the world. There’s a long way to go globally to bring about equality.”

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On Thursday, six people were injured in a stabbing at the Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem.

Peter Kyle, MP for Hove and Portslade said:

Pride is many things to many people. There are people who are straight who have got families who go along to celebrate the diversity of our city.”

Brighton DJ Fatboy Slim will be playing in the Wild Fruit dance tent in Preston Park, and the cabaret tent will be hosted by Lola Lasagne.

Other acts appearing include The Human League, Ruby Rose and Ella Henderson.

Attacker Stabs 6 People at Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade

Police say an Orthodox Jew – who stabbed marchers at a Jerusalem gay pride parade 10 years ago – launched another knife attack at the same type of parade in the same city Thursday, stabbing and wounding six people who were on the streets for the event, police said.

Police arrested the attacker, Yishai Shlissel, at the scene of the brutle crime. However, report that of the six people stabbed Thursday, two were injured seriously.

Israeli police say Shlissel, an Orthodox Jew, was released from prison three weeks ago after serving a 10-year prison sentence for stabbing and wounding three marchers at a Jerusalem gay pride parade in 2005.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the government would “pursue justice for those responsible” for the latest attack. The government fell short of calling it an act of terror, but Netanyahu did call it “a despicable hate crime.”

In the state of Israel, the freedom of choice of an individual is one of the most basic values. We must ensure that in Israel every man and woman lives confidently in any way they (choose).

This is how we operate and this is how we will continue to operate. I wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”

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President Reuven Rivlin said of the incident.

We came together today for a festive event, but the joy was shattered when a terrible hate crime occurred here in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. People celebrating their freedom and expressing their identity were viciously stabbed. We must not be deluded; a lack of tolerance will lead us to disaster. We cannot allow such crimes, and we must condemn those who commit and support them.”

Israel has relatively liberal gay rights policies, despite the ultra-Orthodox community’s hostility towards homosexuals. The Jewish state repealed a ban on consensual same-sex sexual acts in 1988.