Thousands have marched for LGBT+ equality in Hong Kong.
Thousands have marched for LGBT+ equality in Hong Kong.
More than 10,000 people took to the streets of the city for its ninth annual Pride parade.
The theme for this year’s Pride was ‘Turn the tide, walk with Pride – discrimination says goodbye’.
A giant rainbow flag was carried from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to Edinburgh Place in Central.
The city last month became the first Asian city to be chosen to host the Gay Games.
The territory was chosen for the 2022 event over competing bids from Washington DC and Guadalajara, in Mexico, by the Federation of Gay Games.
This is despite the autonomous region being controlled by China, which has a terrible LGBT rights record.
Chinese authorities announced a ban on gay online content earlier this year.
And in May, an LGBT conference in the country was cancelled after police detained nine LGBT activists and told them LGBT events were not welcome in their city.
The Gay Games decision, announced yesterday in Paris, produced an ecstatic reaction from Hong Kong’s 13-member bid team, with screaming, hugging and cheering greeting the news.
Bid chair Dennis Philipse told the South China Morning Post that he was “proud” of the result.
“We fought tirelessly and are elated to bring the games to Asia for the first time. Thank you all for your love and support,” he added.
