More than 1 million people attended
Saturday's WorldPride march and parade in Madrid, Spain.
Saturday's march capped off the 10-day
LGBT Pride festival, which takes place in a different city every two
years. This year's theme was “For LGBTI Rights All Over the
World.”
According to the
Washington
Blade, Madrid Mayor Manuela Carmena and representatives from
Spain's main political parties participated in the event.
Several nearby streets were closed over
terrorism concerns. Madrid also deployed more than 3,000 police
officers to protect revelers.
Madrid was festooned with rainbow flags
and signs welcoming WorldPride.
“Everyone's so open,” Michael
Criswell, an American who attended the march, told the Blade.
“We just feel very blessed and very lucky.”
New York City will become the first
U.S. city to host WorldPride in 2019 as part of the 50th
anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, the 1969 riots credited with
sparking the modern gay rights movement.
Previous host cities have included
Rome, Jerusalem, London and Toronto.