The biggest LGBT+ Pride celebrations around the world

June is the month to celebrate diversity, inclusion and the massive and historic accomplishments of the LGBT+ movement. Cities worldwide are getting decked out in glitter and glam, ready to host all lovers of the rainbow flag. From parades and marches, to festivals, shows and endless parties, the spectrum of events to choose from is almost dizzying.

Here are the absolute hottest and most unmissable Pride events for June 2024.

Bangkok, Thailand

Date: 1 June

This year’s Bangkok event is truly not one to miss. The city is not only vying to host WorldPride , the global LGBT+ festival and biggest Pride event in the world, in 2030, but Thailand also looks set to become the first South East Asian nation to legalise same-sex marriage this year.

Bangkok, especially neighbourhoods like Silom, is known for its diversity and open-mindedness, which makes it one of the best destinations to celebrate Pride. The parade kicks off festivities on 1 June at 3pm on Rama I Road, with a film festival, various art exhibitions, drag brunches, cruises and club nights plus Prism Festival, a two-day EDM party, filling out the weekend.

Chicago, Illinois 

Date: 22-30 June 

Chicago’s Pride heritage dates back more than 50 years, with this year’s month-long celebration culminating in the Chicago Pride Parade on 30 June. There are plenty of ways the city puts its own stamp on the occasion: festivities dedicated to women, the Black community, and the Navy are but a few. This year, you can also look forward to the return of Pride in the Park, a two-day music festival in the city’s historic Grant Park.

From 22-23 June, Chicago Pride Fest takes place in America’s first officially recognised gay village, Northalsted, featuring three stages of musical acts; arts, crafts and food stalls; drag shows; a high-heel race and more. Headline acts include JoJo Siwa and Natasha Bedingfield during a weekend of 40+ performances.

Madrid, Spain

Date: 28 June-7 July

The Spanish capital stages one of Europe’s largest and most distinctive Pride parties. Madrid Orgullo begins on 28 June (International Pride Day), crowned with the parade on 6 July putting a Spanish stamp on the floats, flamboyant fashion and festivities that have become synonymous with Pride. The parade finishes with the reading of Spain’s manifesto of freedom, inclusion and diversity, before an all-out bacchanale blasts off at the Plaza de Colón.

There’ll be concerts, drag shows, the traditional High-Heel Race , and Mr. Gay Pride Espana pageant , all throughout the Chueca neighbourhood, home to Spain’s LGBT+ community since the 1980s.

Paris, France 

Date: 27-30 June

All eyes are on Paris this summer, thanks to the Olympic Games – though the party is starting a little earlier this year. A month ahead of the Games’s opening ceremony, more than half a million people are expected to convene in the city of lights for Paris Gay Pride , aka Marche des Fiertés. The national event blends events and parties in a celebration of equality for the LGBT+ community – Disneyland Paris’s Magical Pride party will also be returning on 15 June.

The parade will be held on 29 June this year, one which usually begins in true Parisian fashion with rallying speeches at the Place de la Nation. It then sweeps across the capital and ends with an enormous free party at Place de la République, with music and performances until late. The two weeks leading up to the parade will feature shows, screenings, conferences and events, mostly held in Le Marais, Paris’s most prominent gay district.

Toronto, Canada 

Date: 28-30 June

Toronto will be packed with LGBT+-centred events this June, featuring hundreds of acts, groups and vendors – not to mention a youth conference and the festival’s famous art installations which pop up all over Hogtown. One of the most anticipated events is on 20 June, when Ru Paul’s Drag Race winner Raja returns to host her drag pool party at the Grand Bizarre Supper Club. Expect cocktails and looks served in equal measure. 

These events all lead up Pride Toronto ’s official weekend from 28-30 June, which includes a two-day music festival, ’Til Sunset, on Cherry Beach, and, of course, the parade.

New York City, New York 

Date: 30 June

Every year since the historic 1977 Stonewall Uprising at the Stonewall Inn , New York City has commemorated the LGBT+ pioneers who fomented the modern gay liberation movement in the US. This year’s theme is “Reflect. Empower. Unite.”, emphasising the significance of the NYC Pride March as a time and place to gather and celebrate Queer culture.

June will see a flurry of activities commemorating the 40th anniversary of Heritage of Pride – the non-profit organisation that plans the event every year – and the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, ending with the iconic NYC Pride March and PrideFest street fair on 30 June. Over-21s can warm up the weekend prior with the huge club night party “Teaze”, families, meanwhile, can enjoy a family movie night and the dedicated Youth Pride programme for younger members of the community.