NYC Pride

New York Gay Pride is right up there as one of the biggest and best gay pride events globally; after all, it is the Big Apple we're talking about. Taking place in June, during the height of New York's summer, NYC Pride illuminates the city with a range of LGBTQ-related parties, events, conferences, and, of course, one incredible and colorful parade.

The first NYC Pride Rally occurred one month after the Stonewall Riots in June 1969, which launched the modern Gay Rights Movement. On the morning of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a local gay bar in Greenwich Village that very much represented the city's underground LGBTQ culture. Following these violent and discriminatory attacks, 500 people gathered for a "Gay Power" demonstration in Washington Square Park a month later. A candlelight vigil followed this in Sheridan Square. A year later, in 1970, the first NYC Pride March took place on June 28, making it the first-ever gay pride march in the US.

Gay Pride New York has continued this proud tradition by hosting the event in various locations throughout the city. The March passes by the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street, the site of the June 1969 Stonewall riots. Today, the New York Pride parade rivals the Sao Paulo Gay Pride Parade and Madrid Pride as the largest pride parade in the world, attracting thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each year.

In 2019, each June, New York celebrated a special pride in the form of WorldPride NYC. The iconic event transpired for the entire month of June and celebrated 50 years since the Stonewall Riots. Various festivities, including PrideFest and Pride Island, dazzled the city, with headline acts including Melissa Etheridge and Madonna. 

Each year during Gay Pride New York, a series of parties and celebrations take place throughout NYC and continue until the concluding Pride Parade, which happens towards the end of June. While the main parade usually transpires in the heart of Manhatten, pride events often occur in other areas of the city, too, including Brooklyn and Staten Island.

The aim of NYC Pride, as with every other pride, is to seek a future without discrimination. A future in which LGBTQ people can be recognized and accepted and enjoy the same rights as everyone else. Gay Pride New York aims to achieve this by curating a rich program of events that can inspire, commemorate, educate, and celebrate every shade of the Pride rainbow. So, will we see you this year in the Big Apple for Pride in New York? Naturally!

For full details on NYC Pride, be sure to check out the official event program. Happy Pride!