Pride: Belfast flooded with colour for parade

  • Published
Media caption,

Belfast Pride: Colour floods the streets for Pride parade

Thousands of people have turned out in Belfast for the annual Pride parade.

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar attended the march.

A Pride-goer grabs a selfie with taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo VaradkarImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

A Pride-goer grabs a selfie with taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar

Billed as a celebration of the city's LGBT community and as a protest calling for equality, the parade set off from Custom House Square at 13:00 BST and paraded through the city centre.

A rainbow Pride flag was flown from Belfast City Hall for the first time. Lord Mayor John Finucane said it was "hugely significant".

A marcher wears an oversized feather collar featuring the colours of the rainbow flagImage source, AFP/Getty Images
Image caption,

The Pride event was a spectacle of colour in Belfast city centre

Members of BBC Pride, a staff-led initiative which operates across the UK, took part in the Belfast parade for the first time.

Marchers hold a banner with BBC Pride written on it as they pass St Anne's Cathedral in BelfastImage source, Niall Carson/PA Media
Image caption,

BBC Northern Ireland staff joined the parade for the first time

The head of BBC Northern Ireland apologised to staff on Friday over "confusion" around participation in the event.

In an email on Friday, Peter Johnston said the organisation would not be "involved corporately" in the event.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by John Finucane

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by John Finucane

The theme of this year's parade was 'Rights Now', as it aimed "to highlight the rights that are still denied to [the LGBTQ+] community".

Belfast's first ever Pride parade was in 1991, when about 100 people took part.

A marcher stands in front of the camera with their back to the photographer. They are wearing a rainbow trilby hat and a rainbow feather boa.Image source, PAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images
Image caption,

Some people wore rainbow colours from head to toe

A mother and son hold signs. One says 'Mom, I'm gay' and the other says, 'Hi Gay, I'm Mom'.Image source, @hakansandal
Image caption,

Marchers made their own signs for the parade including this mother and son

A marcher holds a rainbow fan next to a rainbow flag running down the street behind them.Image source, PAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images
Image caption,

One of the rainbow flags on show was a 30-metre section of a mile-long one made in 1994