They paraded through the city centers in dazzling costumes, with rainbow flags and in colorfully decorated floats.Image: keystone
June 29, 2026, 03:33June 29, 2026, 03:33
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets at Pride parades in New York and San Francisco on Sunday. They paraded through the city centers in dazzling costumes, with rainbow flags and in colorfully decorated floats. There were hundreds of thousands of spectators along the routes – many cheered on the participants.
The parade in San Francisco was traditionally led by “Dykes on Bikes” (lesbians on motorcycles). Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in the US House of Representatives since 1987, also took part in the West Coast metropolis. The pageant on the East Coast included New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The annual parades are celebrations of the LGBTQI+ community and advocate for their rights. The English abbreviation stands for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans people, queer and intersex people. The plus sign is a placeholder for other identities and genders.
The Pride Parade dates back to the Stonewall riots of 1969. At that time, revelers in the popular gay bar “Stonewall Inn” on Christopher Street in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village defended themselves against a police raid. On the first anniversary of the clashes, around 4,000 people marched through New York and demanded equal rights – today the annual Christopher Street Day (CSD) commemorates this worldwide. (sda/dpa)