Key facts about LGBTQ+ Pride

Published by: CNBC-TV18.com

The Month of June was chosen for LGBTQ pride month to commemorate the Stonewall Riots which occurred at the end of June 1969  in USA 

Why June

A series of violent demonstrations by members of the gay community were held in the US against a police raid on June 28 1969 at Stonewall Inn in the New York City. This led to the modern fight for gay & Lesbian Rights in the USA

The Stonewall Riots

Held in the month of June 28 & 29 1970 in Chicago, New York  Los Angeles and San Francisco to Commorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots

First Gay Pride Parades

The rainbow flag made its debut in 1978 San Francisco Pride parade. Harvey Milk asked his friend Gilbert Baker to design a unifying symbol for the gay community – the Rainbow flag was the result.

The First Flag

An American Politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected in the Public office in California. He sponsored a bill  banning Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation

Who is Harvey Milk

The original LGBT flag was hand dyed and has 8 symbolic colours.

Of the Original  eight symbolic colours, hot pink and turquoise were later dropped due to production  constraint and the need for design symmetry 

The Greek symbol Lambda was commonly used for gay rights before the rainbow flag as the sign of the gay activist aliance 

In 1994, Gilbert Baker led the creation of a mile long rainbow flag to honour the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The Guinness Book of World Record recognised it as the largest flag at that time

The Giant Flag

In 2003, to commemorate the Rainbow Flag’s 25th anniversary, Baker created a Flag stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean in Key West. He later sent sections of this flag to more than 100 cities around the world.

25 years of the Rainbow Flag

The oldest Surviving LGBT community organisation  is Netherlands center for culture and Leisure.It was founded in 1946.

Oldest LGBT Organisation

Early Marches often used  Gay liberation and freedom in their names but with the cultural changes in the 1980's and 90's these words were replaced by the term Gay Pride .

Rise of Pride

The Sao Paulo Gay Pride Parade in Brazil is listed by Guinness World record as the world's largest Pride parade starting in 2006 with 2.5 million people. It broke the Guinness record in 2009 with 4 million attendees

World's Largest Parade

Europe has a pan-European International Pride Event called Euro Pride 

Europride

Amsterdam is the only city where parade floats on a river. 100 decorated boats sail through the city on the Prinsengracht River

Floats on a river

The longest Gay Pride Celebration lasts 3-4 weeks in Sydney,Australia in Febuary each year ending with Mardi Gras

Longest Gay Pride Celebration

Held in Kolkata on 2nd July 1999, it was called the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk. It had only 15 participants in total

India's First Pride Parade

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