Lady Gaga's influence over gay culture
was on display in the opening acts of Gay Pride 2012.
More than 32,000 revelers last weekend
packed the streets of the sea resort Playa Del Ingles to participate
in Maspalomas' annual Gay Pride parade. Maspalomas, one of the
oldest tourists towns in the south coast of Gran Canaria in the
Canary Islands, is one of Spain's gay friendliest travel
destinations.
Organizers of the 11th
annual event earlier said that they expected crowds to surpass
150,000 people during 7 activity-packed days.
Lady Gaga firmly entrenched herself in
the gay community with her 2011 studio album Born This Way,
whose title track has been adopted as a gay anthem, and her gay
rights advocacy – she campaigned for repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't
Tell” and has advocated against bullying.
A tribute to Lady Gaga was included
during Friday night's Drag
Diva Gala. Also included were Madonna, Cher and Kylie Minogue.
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Closer to home, in Pennsylvania, Lady
Gaga provided the tunes for Saturday's New Hope Celebrates annual Gay
Pride parade. The week-long event was expected to attract more than
10,000 visitors, the Star-Ledger
reported.