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Bangkok will celebrate diversity in May with its first pride parade in 11 years.

The festival will take place over six days with the highlight being a pride parade on May 20 — the first of its type to be held in the Thai capital since 2006.

“We can not wait to make one of the most important LGBT celebrations a reality in Bangkok,” said Paul Heymans of Out BKK. “It’s time to fly our rainbow flags high and show the world that Thailand is also progressing towards free and equal rights for everyone.”

Bangkok Pride aims to promote gender equality and equal rights, while raising awareness for LGBT-related health issues. There will be workshops, film festivals, social events and parties held across the city.

Heymans added that the original plan to hold it on Silom Road,a popular gay nightlife destination, had to be changed to another location to be announced soon.

Out BKK, Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand, QueerMango, Bangkokrainbow and the HIV Foundation Asia have been named as among the organisations involved in the event.

Despite a prominent LGBT community, Thailand’s only regular pride parade takes place in Phuket each April.

Thailand has been marketing itself in recent years as a “pink” tourist destination, a country friendly to queer travellers seeking everything from gay bars to beauty pageants featuring trans women (known in Thailand as “kathoey” or “ladyboys”). However, Thai society is less accepting of its own lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

For further details visit Bangkok Pride’s Facebook event page.

 

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