They are also the creator and licensor of WorldPride, an event that promotes LGBTQ+ pride issues on an international level through parades, festivals and other cultural activities. InterPride is one such group and its members include dedicated volunteers who organize and work to put on pride events all over the world. Several non-profit organizations have also formed within the past couple of decades in an effort to support prides regionally and around the world. Global and Regional LGBTQ+ Pride Organizations In many countries, June is officially recognized as pride month even though some cities may hold their pride events on alternate dates.
In honor of the Stonewall riots and the demonstrations that took place the following year in major cities in the US, most cities around the world now hold their pride celebrations in the summer of the northern hemisphere and in particular in June.
As the years went on, additional cities in North America and Europe began to hold their own public demonstrations or pride day, eventually leading to what we know today as a gay pride parade, march, celebration or festival. The following year in June, organized demonstrations took place in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco to mark the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
This series of events was a turning point for the LGBTQ+ community and marks one of the most significant events leading to the modern gay rights movement. In June of 1969, a group of LGBTQ+ people in New York City rioted following a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar located on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. Major cities like New York, São Paulo and Madrid host some of the largest events in the world with crowds of up to 5 million people. In western nations where LGBTQ+ people are protected and acceptance is high, many pride events have grown in scale, welcoming millions of visitors to their celebrations. Over the past 50 years, pride events, marches and demonstrations have evolved considerably.
Although there are still obstacles in achieving full acceptance and protections for the LGBTQ+ community, the progress made just over the past few decades has been significant. Depending on the country or city where the event is being held, the marches and parades often campaign for recognition and acceptance of same-sex marriage, legal protections for couples and families, anti-discrimination laws or trans rights. While the aim of pride day started with a political nature, many cities around the world have such wide acceptance and legal protections that many events have become a celebration of pride for the local LGBTQ+ community. Gay Pride or rather LGBTQ+ pride events (used to be more inclusive), including pride parades and festivals were started in major urban centers to improve the visibility, acceptance and legal protections for LGBTQ+ people living in those communities. The global landscape for LGBTQ+ rights, protections and acceptance varies tremendously by location, with some destinations attracting millions of visitors to their events like Madrid Gay Pride, Sao Paulo Gay Pride or San Francisco Gay Pride, while more than 70 other countries have laws that allow discrimination or persecution of LGBTQ+ people. Police will provide first response and security “only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials,” the group said, adding it hoped to keep police officers at least one city block away from event perimeter areas where possible.The LGBTQ+ rights movement has made tremendous strides over the past few decades and much of the progress in visibility is thanks in part to gay pride parades and marches that have taken place in cities around the world. It will also increase the event's security budget to boost the presence of community-based security and first responders while reducing the police department's presence. “The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason,” the group said. In their statement, NYC Pride urged members of law enforcement to “acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward.”
NEW YORK – Organizers of New York City’s Pride events said Saturday they are banning police and other law enforcement from marching in their huge annual parade until at least 2025 and will also seek to keep on-duty officers a block away from the celebration of LGBTQ people and history.