Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade set for transgender focus
By Nick Bond
This Year’s Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade will feature a new focus on supporting the transgender community, it has been announced. And who better to help deliver the message than 2014 Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, who’ll be in Tel Aviv to participate.
Highlights of the Tel Aviv Pride calendar include a parade along the city’s world-famous beach, an LGBT culture festival, film festival, conferences, an ongoing chill-out beach and Tel Aviv’s largest ever Gay Party (to host 7,000 party-goers at the City’s football stadium).
The cit’s 17th Annual Pride Festival will take place between June 7-12, with its highlight being the City’s largest ever gay parade, with an expected all-time record 180,000 participants (2014 saw 130,000 participants in the parade) tipped to make it Asia’s largest-ever gay pride event. This year’s events will focus on supporting the transgender community, something that made Conchita herself decide to come to Tel Aviv to perform in the parade.
Tel Aviv has, in recent years, become one of the world’s leading and most famous gay tourist destinations, thanks to its tolerant atmosphere, warm weather (300 days of sun a year), famous culinary scene and world-leading nightlife scene. GayCities.com ranked Tel Aviv as the “World’s Best Gay Tourism Destination”, Lonely Planet considers Tel Aviv one of the world’s Top 10 hedonistic city breaks and CNN ranked the city as ‘one of the 10 best gay honeymoon hotspots’. The estimated 30,000 international visitors to the parade are expected to spend 40% more than general tourists, staying an average of 3.5 nights in the city.
“We are pleased to see the vision we have cultivated this year – pride events reflecting the diversity of the LGBT community, and bringing the transgender community to the forefront – become a reality. Tel Aviv celebrates all those who help make it, every day, the city that loves all genders,” says Yaniv Weizman, member of Tel Aviv City Council (Gay Community Portfolio).
“The Nonstop City is proud to host LGBT visitors from around the world for this year’s Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade. In Tel Aviv, there is a place for everyone, regardless of gender, religion, lifestyle or sexual orientation,” says Hila Oren, CEO of Tel Aviv Global.
“In Tel Aviv we celebrate our differences – and we believe that the people are what makes our city – whoever you are – there’s a place for you in Tel Aviv.”
More information about Tel Aviv Gay Pride.
More Pride info: To book Exclusive Gay Travel packages visit Marriottweekends.co.uk/pride