July 1 (UPI) — Thousands of people gathered in New York City on Sunday as it hosted the world’s largest LGBTQ celebration, WorldPride.
Organizers said about 150,000 people attended the parade on Sunday, which includes a march down Fifth Avenue past the Stonewall Inn on the 50th anniversary of the 1969 riots in which members of the LGBTQ community stood up to a police raid on the gay bar.
The cast of Pose — an FX TV series about New York City’s LGBTQ ballroom culture in the 1980s and 1990s — transgender activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera and U.K. Black Pride co-founder Phyll OpokuGyimah were honored as grand marshals of the parade.
Sunday’s event marked the first time that a U.S. city has hosted WorldPride.
At least 1,000 people also protested on behalf of the Reclaim Pride Coalition’s Queer Liberation March speaking out against the mainstream and corporate tone the city’s pride parade has adopted.
Prior to the parade, Pose star Indya Moore called on the crowd to not lose sight of issues facing the transgender community, including poverty, discrimination and tension with law enforcement.
“That’s when we need you the most,” said Moore. “Love us when we’re under attack.”
