Millions lined the streets of New York on Sunday to wave rainbow flags, celebrate the movement toward LGBTQ equality and renew calls for action in what organizers billed as the largest gay pride celebration in history.
New York, one of the most progressive cities in the world, was dressed in rainbow colors to welcome two parades in Manhattan as well as several more in the other four boroughs.
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It was also the first time the US hosted the global World Pride parade.
Some 150,000 parade marchers and an estimated 4 million spectators commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising that triggered the modern LGBTQ movement, with corporate sponsorship and police protection that would have been unthinkable half a century ago.
A world away from the New York celebration, marchers in Istanbul braving the official order banning the pride parade were faced with a heavy police response.
Tear gas sent people scurrying for cover in the megalopolis bridging Europe and Asia, as security forces enforced the ban for the fifth year in a row.
Last week, Erdogan's AKP party lost Turkey's largest city in an electoral upset, with a secular progressive to now be in charge.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
