Celebrating Worldwide LGBTQ+ Pride Events Throughout 2024

Remember when we only talked about LGBTQ+ Pride in June? We’re glad those days are over. All year, queer travelers and allies have plenty of reasons to visit destinations around the world for inclusive events from Vienna to San Antonio.

LGBTQ+ travelers are still facing issues of acceptance and inclusion worldwide—just check out the record 510 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the United States alone last year! Knowing a destination will embrace LGBTQ+ individuals is vital, even if it sems like an accepting place. This is the top 15 gay pride in the world.

These destinations are shouting it out loudly: Queer travelers are wanted! To inspire these travelers, here are some of the biggest and newest events attracting Canadian travelers as we get excited about celebrating Pride (officially) in June!

➤Miami, Florida, hosts Miami Beach Pride from April 2-14, shining a spotlight on the vibrant LGBTQ+ community in Miami Beach. This 10-day extravaganza is home to a festival and parade, rooftop screenings, pool gatherings, and an elegant Pride gala. The OUTShine Film Festival from April 18-28 offers cinematic works from emerging and seasoned LGBTQ+ filmmakers. SweetHeat Miami welcomes visitors to bask in sunshine, vibrant day-to-night dance gatherings, and the chance to forge new connections from May 14-20. Tailored for women, this beloved Pride celebration offers various activities across South Beach, Wynwood, and Downtown Miami. During June, Wynwood Pride returns for its annual festival highlighting local businesses in Miami’s vibrant Wynwood Arts District. No Fear, We’re Queer from June 21-22 hosts a diverse lineup featuring sketch comedy, stand-up acts, drag performances, and improv shows.

➤North Carolina (statewide), celebrates Pride from the streets of Asheville to the bustling energy of Charlotte. On June 21-23, visitors can experience the Appalachian Trail on a 3-day, 2-night LGBTQ+ Pride Backpacking Trip and backpack with an inclusive community. On September 30, Asheville hosts Blue Ridge Pride Festival, western North Carolina’s largest LGBTQ+ celebration of the year with over 100 vendors, including educational groups like YouthOUTright and culinary delights.

Winston-Salem will hold a downtown parade and festival with live music, entertainment, street vendors, and hands-on activities on June 22. Out! Raleigh Pride, June 22, is the area’s annual, family-friendly street festival that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Raleigh is also home to a number of LGBTQ+ clubs and venues like Legends Nightclub Complex, The Green Monkey, and Flex Nightclub & Bar. Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade is one of the largest Pride events in the southeastern United States, happening August 17-18.

➤Orlando, Florida, is a highly inclusive destination who has been a pioneer in LGBTQ+ tourism dating back to the original Gay Days in 1991. Orlando was also named the first-ever “City of the Year” by GayCities.com. Presented by Pineapple Healthcare, Pride Prom held at the Orlando Science Center promised to be a dazzling celebration of diversity, inclusion and love on April 12. GayDays (May 30 – June 3) will take over world-famous attractions, clubs, and venues creating a renowned gay and lesbian vacation experience. Events include Taste of GayDays, Drag Bingo. On Saturday June 1 at Beach Ball at Aquatica Orlando, attendees can dance the night away to the beat of an amazing DJ lineup.

Girls in Wonderland (May 30 – June 3) caters to female members of the LGBTQ+ community with parties, performances, and celebrity appearances. One Magical Weekend (May 30 – June 3) is one of the largest LGBTQ+ pride and music festivals globally, held annually on the first weekend of June. With events at Walt Disney World Resorts, this event is a vibrant celebration of non-spot entertainment.

The Pride Cup (May 31 – June 2) is an annual LGBTQ+ multi-sport competition held during Gay Disney weekend – the first weekend in June in Orlando. With events welcoming all levels of athletes, the spirit of competition to Kickoff Pride Month at RED Shirt Pride Days during Gay Disney.

➤San Francisco, California, welcomes San Francisco Pride as it takes over the whole city with over a million people attending on June 29-30. This two-day pride party takes place at the Civic Center Plaza and the surrounding neighborhoods. The 2024 theme is “Beacon of Love”. This celebration has been a beacon of inclusivity for 54 years, where diversity is celebrated. San Francisco has always been a city where everyone is welcome, where boldness is rewarded and where nothing is more valued than the freedom to express yourself. There are 11 awesome LGBTQ murals in San Francisco. One is Harvey Milk Mural and Plaza. Harvey Milk is one of San Francisco’s most famed gay sons. The former city supervisor, the first openly gay man elected to office in California, was assassinated in 1978, just months after taking up his role.

Founded in 1977, the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is the longest-running, largest, and most widely recognized queer film exhibition event in the world. Fresh Meat Festival of transgender and queer performance is an annual, multidisciplinary performance festival held the third week of June at San Francisco’s Z Space Theater.

➤U.S. Virgin Islands are getting proud as St. Croix celebrates the unique heritage and history of the LGBTQ+ community on the island with St. Croix Pride Month. Pride events typically include an art exhibition at Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts, lectures and forums, dance parties, a scuba diving adventure at the Frederiksted Pier, a rave at Point Udall, and the most colorful event of all, the Pride Parade.

➤Vienna, Austria, is excited to celebrate the Euro Games in the city for the first time, welcoming LGBTQ+ athletes from all over Europe this July 17-20.  Before the athletes arrive, however, the city will host Vienna Pride, which returns to the destination this year with the iconic Ringstrasse and finishing at the Pride Village on Rathausplatz. This event includes various parties and cultural activities dedicated to the rights of LGBTQIA+ people. This year it will happen from May 25 to June 9, with the Pride Parade on June 8, where over 300,000 individuals are expected to come together in a vibrant celebration and demonstration of unity. The highlight of the festival is the Rainbow Parade that takes place on June 17, 2023, where more than 250,000 people are expected to celebrate and demonstrate together. Another popular event is the Diversity Ball on June 3, which promotes diversity, inclusivity, and respect. Vienna is a vibrant hub for global LGBTQ+ events offering events such as the Vienna Fetish Spring (May 17-20), featuring the renowned “Mr. Leather Austria” competition.

➤Washington DC is gearing up for World Pride 2025, part of the city’s 50th year of Pride celebration). With an election on hand, it seems only fitting that this year’s Capital Pride theme is Totally Radical. Throughout the celebrations and program, organizers will pay homage to the many celebrities and public figures and organizations like ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) who fought during the AIDS crisis in the 60’s and 70’s to bring light to the stigma and repercussions of homophobia in the mainstream media and medical world, ultimately creating a Totally Radical new world for the LGBTQ+ community. Along with the Parade, highlights from this year’s schedule include RIOT! The Capital Pride Official Opening Party starring Sapphira Cristál, crowned Miss Congeniality on the latest season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the Pride Block Party, the Annual Capital Trans Pride Pool Party and the Pride Concert, which is free of charge for general admission.