Gay Parade
The São Paulo Gay Parade is, if not the biggest, one of the biggest events of its kind in the world. In 2005, more than 2,000,000 people attended the Parade (read BBC and News24).
It is also one of the major tourist events in São Paulo; the event has official support from the city government of São Paulo. The Parade happens yearly, usually in June; it is the beggining of Brazilian winter, when temperatures are lower, but rains are rare.
For information in Portuguese, visit the site of the official organizer of the event, the Associação do Orgulho GLBT de São Paulo (Association of the Pride of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgenders of São Paulo).
What is the Parade?
The Parada do Orgulho GLBT de São Paulo (Parade of Pride of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgenders of São Paulo) has been organized since 1999, with the aims of bringing visibility to social-sexual categories and fomenting the creation of public policies for homossexuals, bissexuals, transvestites and transsexuals.
The main strategy is to occupy public spaces so as to make possible an effective exchange of experiences, elevate the self-esteem of homossexuals and sensibilise the society towards the tolerance with differences.
Year after year, the conscientization and education towards respect to diversity has generated positive results as far as bias eradication is concerned. During the Parade, the homossexuals, united, help construct and guarantee the plenitude of their rights.
History of the São Paulo Gay Parade. From 3,000 attendees in 1997 to over 2,000,000 attendees in 2005.
The Parade in 2006. The programme.
Map of the Parade. See the route of the Parade.
Other Gay Parades in Brazil. Nearly all capitals of Brazilian States organize a GLBT Parade.