Planet parties with PRIDE! LGBT celebrations across the globe as hundreds of thousands take to streets
- Brighton organisers expecting over 300,000 supporters amid travel chaos for Britney Spears concert tonight
- Rainbow flags line the streets of Belfast, Hamburg in Germany and canals of Amsterdam for boat parties
- In Russia, it’s a far drearier picture as up to 25 gay rights activists are arrested at a rally in St Petersburg
A swathe of colourful LBGTQ+ supporters have descended on Brighton by for what organisers are anticipating as the biggest Pride Parade ever on the south coast.
There were reports of travel chaos on trains departing London as thousands of fans boarded services to catch pop sensation Britney Spears who is set to perform later tonight.
Pride celebrations have been taking place in cities around the world including Belfast and Amsterdam while gay rights activists who took part in a rally in Russia were arrested.
A giant rainbow flag is carried along the sea front during Brighton Pride earlier as organisers anticipate the biggest crowds ever of 300,000 on the south coast this weekend
Thousands of party-goers added to the colourful parade which started at Hove Lawns at 11am this morning before travelling through the town and up to Preston Park
This weekend’s Pride event in Brighton started yesterday and will continue on until tomorrow with even more LGBTQ+ supporters expected to descend on the seaside town
A flash mob of dancers are cheered on by crowds as the Lynx float makes its way along the seafront during the annual Pride parade in Brighton
Two attendees dressed head-to-toe in rainbow colours get into the spirit of Pride in Brighton as one police officer gets into the spirit with a love heart-shaped balloon
Ahead of Britney Spears’ headline slot tonight, pop songstresses Pixie Lott and Louise Redknapp warm up crowds with performances at Preston Park in Brighton
Gentlemen leading a bus along the parade route preserve their modesty with colourful makeshift bras and skirts with a map of the world
Organisers are anticipating up to 300,000 revellers to soak up the sun at Pride from yesterday until tomorrow, with a plethora of rainbow flag-bearing supporters seen enjoying this afternoon’s carnival.
The annual march has made its way from Hove Lawns, along the seafront and through to Preston Park where tonight’s performances will take place.
Shortly after 1pm, Sussex Police warned services bound for Brighton were overflowing and advised travellers who didn’t have a ticket for the event not to travel.
‘Even the train signs are getting in on the act’: One Twitter user en route to Brighton shared this image as packed services prompted travel chaos earlier this afternoon
Britney Spears’ headline show at Preston Park in Brighton tonight is attracting thousands of fans from London who piled on trains to the south coast
Female fans gather for a group selfie at Pride in Brighton earlier bearing signs that say ‘Don’t hate, gyrate!’ at the party expected to continue long into the night
Organisers at Pride are expected their biggest weekend ever in Brighton. Around 2pm, the official Twitter account said there was 20,000 people passing through stations, double the amount of numbers travelling into the city last year
‘If you are making your way to @PrideBrighton on the train — they are at full capacity.
‘Please remain calm, take your time but we strongly advise that if you don’t have tickets to the event, please do not make the journey.’
The event’s official Twitter account added stations were ‘extremely crowded’ with numbers up two-fold on last year’s attendance.
Marchers in Northern Ireland set off from Custom House Square in Belfast with huge P-R-I-D-E balloons in an event that marks 25 years since the country’s first Pride in 1991
There was a prominent presence from public services joining the celebrations in Belfast, including this police officer seen here enjoying himself with LGBTQ+ supporters
Miz Tasty and Red Scarlet make their way to Belfast Pride where tens of thousands joined the parade in Northern Ireland
‘All trains and stations into Brighton are currently extremely crowded, with 20,000 people going through Brighton Station every hour (100 per cent up on last year).
‘If you don’t have an event ticket for today, we suggest you join us tomorrow for @LoveBN1Fest. #staysafe’
Tomorrow’s LoveBN1Fest will be headlined by Nile Rodgers & Chic with Jess Glynne also set to star.
Excited fans shared their joy on social media ahead of Britney’s European tour debut in the seaside town today by sharing #BritneyIsComing.
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One commuter shared an image of the train loading indicator sign on a ThamesLink service that was so packed it lit up in similar rainbow green, orange and yellow colours.
‘Even the Train signs are getting in on the act,’ wrote @pauladunstable.
Over in Belfast, Northern Ireland, tens of thousands attended the Pride Parade that marched alongside a host of public services on a loop through the city.
The event marked 25 years since Belfast’s first Pride in 1991, with a prominent presence from police, ambulance and trade unions joining the celebrations.
Over in Amsterdam, almost half a million LGBTQ+ supporters lined the Dutch capital’s famous canals in the scorching heat.
In Amsterdam, an estimated 500,000 people turned out for the hugely popular Canal Parade where this man flying the Pride flag on a jet-powered hydroflying board added to the entertainment
A girl in pink wings screams to the camera on a party boat that was pictured floating down a canal in the Dutch capital
Many relaxed on moored boats as they lapped up the entertainment, with photographs showing one man waving the pride flag on a jet-powered hydroflying board.
There was an estimated 200,000 party-goers in Hamburg, Germany at a Christopher Street Day parade attended by the city’s mayor Peter Tschentscher.
He marched with crowds carrying a sign that read: ‘Make way for gender gaga,’ a call for diversity acceptance.
Germany call their celebrations Christopher Street Day parades in honour of the Stonewall Riots where LGBT victims were assaulted at a bar on Christopher Street in New York in 1969.
Russia painted a far drearier picture, with an estimated 25 gay rights activists detained for taking part in an unsanctioned rally in St Petersburg.
Reuters reported a few dozen activists gathered at Palace Square on Saturday afternoon, defying a ban to hold the rally.
Hamburg’s first mayor Peter Tschentscher (centre) carries a sign with the slogan ‘Make way for gender gaga,’ a call for diversity acceptance
Lesbian marchers in Hamburg, Germany walk through the city where an estimated 200,000 LGBTQ+ supporters reportedly attended the Christopher Street Day parade
A drag artist wearing leather knee-high boots poses for cameras in Hamburg where Pride celebrations were supported by the German city’s mayor
Organisers had said they would stage one-man protests to demand freedom of association after city authorities turned down their request to hold a parade.
Police detained campaigners who unfurled rainbow flags or held placards, dragging them into a police bus. There were no clashes between police and the activists.
Russia passed a law in 2013 banning the spreading of gay ‘propaganda’.
Russia painted a far drearier picture, with an estimated 25 gay rights activists detained for taking part in an unsanctioned rally in at Palace Square St Petersburg
Police detained campaigners who unfurled rainbow flags or held placards, dragging them into a police bus. There were no clashes between police and the activists
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