Tom PowellGIBRALTAR is set to hold its first Pride festival this summer.
A planning committee is working on fine tuning for the festival, entitled Pride – Recognising Diversity and Equality in July.
The festival, which this year has the slogan ‘We Are One!’ will include a parade from the Piazza to Casemates.
There will also be a variety of acts and music, educational and photographic events, and exhibitions on the theme of ‘Pride in Diversity & Equality’.
The festival is part of an international celebration of gay rights and diversity.
Since the first Gay Pride marches were held in New York in 1970, the event has grown to be a worldwide celebration of diversity.
Pride is celebrated in most major cities, the best known being San Francisco, Sydney and London. Sao Paulo in Brazil holds the record for the largest march, with 3.2 million people attending the event in 2009.
The event began after a police raid on gay bar Stonewall in 1969 led to rioting in New York.
It is widely regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the Gay Rights movement.
Equality Right Group Chairman Felix Alvarez said “We want to celebrate our differences, pride in our disabled people, our young, our diverse cultures, our ethnic groups, our LGB community, our different faiths, and other sectors who may wish to come forward to celebrate in peace and understanding.”
