Tens of thousands took to the streets in Denmark on Saturday in one of the biggest Pride marches since COVID-19 struck, with some celebrating while others expressed solidarity with LGBTQ+ people living in fear in Afghanistan.
Young people draped in rainbow flags with face paint and glitter walked alongside families with children, while gay men in leather harnesses swapped jokes with drag queens in towering high heels.
Spectators lined the streets of the capital, Copenhagen, including elderly women who exchanged kisses with men dressed in pink cat costumes, while passing cars beeped their horns in support.
“It’s good to be back on the streets,” retired banker Rob Lengacher, 67, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, as the march passed through central Copenhagen.
“I’ve gone to several WorldPrides, and I think it’s important that we’re visible and that we’re out and we’re active.”
WorldPride, which began in Rome in 2000, is held in a different city every two years. The last event, in New York in 2019 – the largest WorldPride ever, with 5 million in attendance – marked the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.
The 1969 Stonewall riots, when the LGBTQ+ community fought back against a police raid on New York’s Stonewall Inn, sparked the birth of the modern-day gay rights movement – with the first ever Pride march taking place in the city the following year.
More than 200 Pride marches were cancelled last year due to the pandemic – and more have been postponed this year, including the London and New York Prides, two of the world’s largest events.
Sydney’s Mardi Gras, usually attended by millions, went ahead in March but with just 5,000 marchers and a ban on larger floats, a mainstay of the parade.
This year’s WorldPride is the first to be held in two cities – Denmark’s Copenhagen and Sweden’s Malmo, some 40km apart and joined together by Europe’s longest road and rail link, the Oresund Bridge, over the strait that divides the two nations.
To reduce the likelihood of coronavirus transmission, six marches set off from different points across Copenhagen on Saturday, meeting in the city’s largest park to watch the closing ceremony, live-streamed from a city centre arena.
Sebastian travelled from Spain 🇪🇸 to attend #WorldPride .
Events like this one are « important to feel the community. » pic.twitter.com/Lu0Cuu2Mww
— Openly 🏳️🌈 (@Openly) August 21, 2021
The post Copenhagen celebrates the return of one of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ Prides appeared first on GAY TIMES.
Copenhagen celebrates the return of one of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ Prides
Tens of thousands took to the streets in Denmark on Saturday in one of the biggest Pride marches since COVID-19 struck, with some celebrating while others expressed solidarity with LGBTQ+ people living in fear in Afghanistan.
Young people draped in rainbow flags with face paint and glitter walked alongside families with children, while gay men in leather harnesses swapped jokes with drag queens in towering high heels.
Spectators lined the streets of the capital, Copenhagen, including elderly women who exchanged kisses with men dressed in pink cat costumes, while passing cars beeped their horns in support.
“It’s good to be back on the streets,” retired banker Rob Lengacher, 67, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, as the march passed through central Copenhagen.
“I’ve gone to several WorldPrides, and I think it’s important that we’re visible and that we’re out and we’re active.”
WorldPride, which began in Rome in 2000, is held in a different city every two years. The last event, in New York in 2019 – the largest WorldPride ever, with 5 million in attendance – marked the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.
The 1969 Stonewall riots, when the LGBTQ+ community fought back against a police raid on New York’s Stonewall Inn, sparked the birth of the modern-day gay rights movement – with the first ever Pride march taking place in the city the following year.
More than 200 Pride marches were cancelled last year due to the pandemic – and more have been postponed this year, including the London and New York Prides, two of the world’s largest events.
Sydney’s Mardi Gras, usually attended by millions, went ahead in March but with just 5,000 marchers and a ban on larger floats, a mainstay of the parade.
This year’s WorldPride is the first to be held in two cities – Denmark’s Copenhagen and Sweden’s Malmo, some 40km apart and joined together by Europe’s longest road and rail link, the Oresund Bridge, over the strait that divides the two nations.
To reduce the likelihood of coronavirus transmission, six marches set off from different points across Copenhagen on Saturday, meeting in the city’s largest park to watch the closing ceremony, live-streamed from a city centre arena.
Sebastian travelled from Spain 🇪🇸 to attend #WorldPride .
Events like this one are « important to feel the community. » pic.twitter.com/Lu0Cuu2Mww
— Openly 🏳️🌈 (@Openly) August 21, 2021
The post Copenhagen celebrates the return of one of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ Prides appeared first on GAY TIMES.
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