80 Gays Around the World: Part 9) Pride and Prejudice in Moscow

Last time: The eccentricities of 29) Caligula (12-41 AD) led to the posthumous removal of his image from statues, the modern equivalent being removed from photographs like 30) Nikolai Yezhov (1895-1940), a Soviet official who had an affair with 31) Filipp Goloshchyokin (1876-1941), the man who organised the assassination of the Romanovs, though one who was assassinated earlier was 32) Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (1857-1905).

Before the well-known Russian Revolution of 1917 there was the Russian Revolution of 1905. 32) Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (1857-1905) was one of its most prominent victims.

The causes of the 1905 revolution were the same as those in 1917. Attempts to modernise and industrialise the Russian empire only led to the peasant class moving into urban areas for work, and workers’ rights was the most widespread reason for protests.

In January 1905 workers marched through St. Petersburg to the tsar’s palace to hand in a petition calling for more workers’ rights. Troops were instructed to keep the peaceful protestors out of the city centre. For some reason, troops began shooting at them and several hundred protestors (the actual number is debated even today) were killed. The event is known as “Bloody Sunday” and is regarded by many historians as the start of the 1905 revolution.

As a nephew of the Tsar, Grand Duke Sergei received high political office. He was appointed Governor General of Moscow in 1891 and although he was a great philanthropist and supporter of various charitable causes the same cannot be said about his politics. He wasn’t a great politician. By the time of the Bloody Sunday massacre he had resigned the governorship, but he knew that as part of the regime that was creating the problems he knew he was a likely target for assassination.

In February Sergei went to a concert at the Bolshoi Theatre. There an assassin awaited him, but when the assassin saw that Sergei’s wife and children were with him, his attempt was abandoned.

The Grand Duke’s wife was Princess Elizabeth von Hessen (1864-1918), a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria and the sister of the founder of the Mountbatten family. Despite having very happy marriage and fathering children, rumours of Sergei’s homosexuality were common during his lifetime. It’s difficult to find firm evidence for this one way or the other but it has been a subject of discussion in several historical books and biographies about the period for it to be ignored. Sergei’s supposed homosexuality was never publicly acknowledged. At that time it would have been difficult for him to admit to it, being a devout Roman Catholic, and with the pressures of being a member of the Imperial family and the scandal it would have caused at the time.

We can understand why Sergei could have felt entrapped by his homosexuality, if he was homosexual or bisexual. The growth of the Socialist and Communist movements in his lifetime were very vocally homophobic. Almost the entire history of Russia since then has been anti-gay. The old homophobic Communist laws that were removed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 came back with the election of an ex-Soviet KGB agent as its current President. He began re-introducing the Communist laws punishing homosexuality from 2010 onwards.

Two days after the aborted assassination attempt, the assassin saw his opportunity again. He spotted Sergei’s open carriage taking him to his former governor’s office. He threw his bomb straight into Sergei’s lap and it exploded instantly. The Grand Duke was literally blown to bits, the carriage driver was mortally wounded, and the assassin severely injured.

I mentioned in my “Pride Tops” and “Pride Bottoms” lists that Pride marches were banned in Moscow for a hundred years in 2012. Moscow has got the closest Russia has got to any form of annual physical Pride march.

The first Moscow Pride was held on 27 May 2006. The city council banned it but it took place anyway. It drew a number of high profile international activists, including Oscar Wilde’s grandson, Merlin Holland. The march was marred by violence and arrests and was eventually broken up by the police.

Successive Moscow Pride marches were similarly banned (except in 2009 when it served as Slavic Pride). In June 2012 all Pride marches in Moscow were banned for 100 years. The last one before the ban was on 28 May 2011. This also attracted international activists, including Dan Choi, Andy Thayer, and 32) Louis-Georges Tin (b.1974) who were all taken into police custody and later released.

Louis-Georges Tin may not be a name you’re familiar with, but I’m sure you know what his contribution to the global lgbt community is. He founded what is now called the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). The original name was simply International Day Against Homophobia. Transphobia was added in 2009, and Biphobia in 2015.

Tin was born on the French Caribbean island of Martinique. He began his anti-racist and lgbt activism whilst at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.

There’s few details online about the precise timeline of events that led to the formation of IDAHOBIT, but it’s clear that by 2004 Louis-Georges Tin had organised a campaign to create a special day for victims of homophobia and abuse every 17th May.

But why did he choose 17th May? On that date in 1990, the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its International Classification of Diseases. Although not universally supported, IDAHOBIT has been officially recognised and continues to be promoted by many governments around the world.

Long before scientists accepted that homosexuality was as normal as heterosexuality they classed it as a mental illness or a disease. The famous psychologist Sigmund Freud regarded homosexuality as a type of paranoia. One of the leading figures in persuading medical science that homosexuality was not an illness or disease was a gay psychiatrist called 34) Dr. John E. Fryer (1936-2003).

In 1972, Fryer attended a convention of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in Dallas. His purpose was to give a speech calling for the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness as labelled in the APA’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”. However, in making the speech Fryer had to publicly declare his own homosexuality, and in doing so was afraid of how this would affect his professional career and medical license. Therefore he made his speech in disguise, wearing a large wig, rubber mask, oversized clothing, and using the pseudonym of Dr. H. Anonymous.

There had been calls for the declassification of homosexuality before, but Fryer made the right speech at the right time. The APA removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses the following year. For this speech Dr. John Fryer has earned his place in American lgbt history as one of its leading champions who paved the way for the World Health Organisation to follow in 1990. It’s undoubtedly the only thing Fryer will be remembered for, but like everyone else, he had a life outside his activism.

John Fryer was also an accomplished pipe organ player and choirmaster. As a youngster he leatnt how to play the piano and he quickly progressed to the pipe organ. Believe me, I’ve did both in my local Methodist church when I was younger, and they are different instruments requiring different playing techniques. Wherever Fryer lived he offered his services as an organ player. During his tenure at Temple University in Philadelphia, he played the organ for their graduation ceremonies.

He was also the choirmaster at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. No doubt he played their pipe organ as well. Sadly, the church closed in 2007, but the organ was saved and is now located in Old St. Joseph’s Church nearer the city centre.

As for the rest of the property, the building was sold to the Waldorf School, who still own it. The stained glass windows, which John Fryer would have seen every time he stepped into the church, went elsewhere, including one of only three surviving windows designed by 35) Violet Oakley (1874-1961).

Next time: We rest in piece among some musical lgbt icons and find unexpected objects in the rain.

Pride Bottoms

Its an unfortunate fact the plate tectonics hasn’t left as much habitable land for humans south of the equator than it has north of it. Consequently, the southernmost Prides (that are not part of Polar Pride) actually take place nearer to the equator than the cities of Copenhagen (55° 40' N), Moscow (55° 45' N), and Edinburgh (55° 57' N).

As I’ve said in the last two days, Polar Pride has been difficult to include because of its non-public nature. I’m tempted to include Polar Pride as a multi-location regional Pride. It can easily be regarded as a regional Pride but it needs to be more accessible to the general public. Hopefully, my quandary will have been resolved in time for my article to celebrate the next Polar Pride on 18th November.

With reference to the illustration given a couple of days ago regarding the tilt of the Earth. When its winter in the north, its summer in the south, and dates of Prides in the southern hemisphere reflects this. This might be blindingly obvious to you, but believe it or not there are still people who don’t understand this.

So, here are the top 5 southernmost Prides as of June 2026 in reverse order. Their locations are shown on the map.

5) MARCHA DEL ORGULLO, RIO GALLEGOS, Argentina – 51° 37' S

Orgullo (Spanish for “Pride”) is the term used throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Rio Gallegos is the capital city of Santa Cruz, Argentina’s southernmost continental province (see also numbers 3 and 1), and is the furthest south of any Pride on the whole American continental landmass.

The first Pride in Rio Gallegos was the Marcha de Orgullo (Pride March) held in November 2017. There had been many Prides in Argentina before this, since at least 1992, and Rio Gallegos was one of a few cities across Argentina that were forming their first Pride events in 2017, joining others in protesting against the growing number of transgender murders and increasing homophobic attacks.

All of Argentina’s provinces now have provincial Prides with marches and events held throughout each province. Rio Gallegos is the central location for Orgullo Santa Cruz. They are held throughout November and often have another smaller march in June.

4) FALKLANDS PRIDE, STANLEY, Falkland Islands – 51° 41' S

The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory, meaning its 3,662 inhabitants (according to the 2021 census) are British citizens.

The first official Pride in the Falklands was on 23rd June 2013 in Stanley, the capital town. There was an unofficial Pride in 2012 organised by local radio DJ Scott Betts at the last minute. Luckily, he had plenty of time to organise the next one with the help of the Falkland Islands government and local community.

This year’s Falklands Pride took place on 10th June and included its first US Pride Month reception at Government House, but there was no Pride march this year.

3) MARCHA DEL ORGULLO, RIO GRANDE, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina – 53° 47' S

Rio Grande is a city on the island of Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost of Argentina’s provinces. Its Marcha del Orgullo is organised as part of the provincial Pride celebrations by Orgullo TDF (Tierra del Fuego Pride). See also number 1 on this list.

2) SOUTH GEORGIA PRIDE, KING EDWARD POINT, South Georgia Island – 54° 17' 

South Georgia, like the Falklands, is a British Overseas Territory. Its Pride march is undoubtedly the smallest.

The southern summer population on South Georgia (December to March) rarely rises above 30. That’s because it has no permanent population, consisting of scientists, naturalists, naval and military personnel and the occasional civil servant. However, as an Overseas Territory, it has its own form of government headed by a Commissioner with international diplomatic status (and his/her own flag). The Commissioner is always also the Governor of the Falkland Islands.

Also, South Georgia has roads. So what, I hear you say. Well, try having a Pride march without one. Even though it can’t claim to have the shortest Pride march (that record is still officially held by Paekākāriki Pride, New Zealand), it can easily claim the record as having the fewest participants. At the island’s first Pride In December 2019 there were only 20 marchers. Being a remote island with a small population, there is the high possibility that South Georgia could have a Pride without any lgbt people attending.

South Georgia is one of the remotest islands on Earth, and holds the record for the remotest Pride from other land. The nearest land, and the nearest Pride, is in the Falklands about 1,400 km (870 miles) away.

1) MARCHA DE ORGULLO, USHUAIA, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina – 54° 48' S

And the prize for hosting the southernmost Pride on Earth goes to the southernmost city on the planet, and the capital city of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia. The city has earned the popular name of “The End of the World”, a name used a lot in the publicity for its Pride march and events every November.

Just like the Marcha del Ogullo in Rio Grande (number 3 above), Ushuaia’s Pride is the central location of the provincial Pride and also organised by the Orgullo TDF.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Here are some more Prides which didn’t quite make the lists but are still notable and have some special significance.

SOUTHLAND/MURIHIKU PRIDE, INVERCARGILL, New Zealand – 46° 24' 

The southernmost Pride outside Argentina and the South Atlantic takes place on South Island, New Zealand, in its most southern city, Invercargill. It has two official names, one in English and the other in Maori, which both mean the same thing. The next Southland/Murihiku Pride will be held throughout March 2027.

MARCHA DEL ORGULLO, EL CALAFATE, Argentina – 50° 20'  S

If you don’t agree with my inclusion of South Georgia Pride (and I won’t object if you do) then number 5 on the southernmost list would go to the city of El Calafate in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. Its Pride celebrations are part of the provincial Orgullo Santa Cruz.

McMURDO STATION, ROSS DEPENDENCY, Antarctica – 77° 50' S.

Until the creation of Polar Pride in 2020 the furthest south that a Pride was held was on this US scientific base in June 2018. Because it was not publicly advertised and restricted to the base’s employees (its inhospitable, remote location not helping) I didn’t include it in the southernmost list above. It has since become part of Polar Pride and when I’ve amended my criteria points to make all Prides in the polar regions eligible it will definitely count as one of the southernmost Prides.

ARCTIC PRIDE, ROVANIEMI, Finland - 66° 30' N

There are several places in the Nordic countries that use the name Arctic Pride, none of them connected to each other. The first in Rovaniemi took place from 22-24 February 2013. The reason I’ve given it an honourable mention is because the city is famous for something else. Rovaniemi is the home of Santa Claus (or Joulupukki to be more accurate, the two characters are not the same and have totally different back-stories, but most people don’t understand this). Why does this matter? A couple of years ago I wrote how this home of “Santa Claus” was created though the direct influence of one lgbt person. I hope to write something about Roveniemi Pride and “Santa Claus” in this year’s Advent series in December.

TROMSØ ARCTIC PRIDE, TROMSØ, Norway – 66° 39'N

This is perhaps the most well-known Arctic Pride in the Nordic countries. From its earliest days it has marketed itself as the most northern Pride on Earth, and still does even though I’ve shown in these last couple of days that it isn’t been since 2010. That’s even before the first Tromsø Arctic Pride took place in November 2014. It actually just missed being in the top 5 northern Prides, being number 6. This year’s Tromsø Arctic Pride takes place from 12 to 15 November with the march on the 14th.

INUVIK PRIDE, INUVIK, Northwest Territories, Canada – 68° 21' N

The North American continent has not yet had a Pride above 69° north. So far the northernmost North American Pride had taken place in Inuvik, a town in the far north of the Northwest Territories of Canada. The first took place there on 21 April 2018.

NORILSK PRIDE, NORILSK, Russia – 69° 20' N

With Russia having the most land above the Arctic Circle it might be of interest to know what could have been its most northern Pride had it not introduced its anti-gay laws. The record goes, not surprisingly perhaps, to the world’s most northern, most polluted, and coldest city, Norilsk, in the Krasnoyearsk krai (a sort of province). It lies on the northern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau. Permission to hold the first Norilsk Pride was rejected in January 2018. This may have made it the remotest Pride held on a continental landmass (i.e. with no sea or ocean in between). The nearest other Pride would have been in another Russian city, Salekhard (66° 32' N) Salekhard 968 km (601 miles) away, whose first Pride for January 2017 was also banned. Otherwise, the nearest Pride that has actually taken place would be Moscow Pride 2,870 km away.

And there you have it. Over the past two days I’ve listed what I believe are the 10 Tops and Bottoms of Prides with a handful of extras thrown in. Don’t forget that the information given in both lists is correct on the date of publication as far as I have researched, and that any one of them could easily be replaced before next June. And also don’t forget that I’ll be writing about Polar Pride on 18th November.

Pride Tops

Now that you’ve digested yesterday’s Pride criteria points let’s get down to the nitty gritty and see which Prides are held nearer to the North Pole than any others.

I should point out that there is also an annual Polar Pride. This is held by people working in research bases in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. It’s not really a public celebration, but neither is it a commercial one. However, Polar Pride feels very much like a regional Pride, and it is an important celebration of lgbt inclusion in sciences. I have had difficulty placing it comfortably in any of my criteria points. I will cover it in more detail on the next Polar Pride on 18th November when I hope to have come to a solution.

The map above shows the locations of the following 5 Prides. Bear in mind that they are not measured in distances from the bottom of the map, but in distances between the North Pole and the Arctic Circle.

I’m sure you know what the Arctic Circle is, but it might help if I explain what it is in case you’re not sure.

Its all due to the tilt of the Earth as is spins. The tilt never changes – the Earth does not always point towards the Sun. The illustration below explains it best. The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line that is a little over 66° north of the equator. You can see that above the Arctic Circle the Sun shines 24 hours a day in the summer because all of that area of the Earth is tilted towards it. That’s why the area is called the Land of the Midnight Sun. And in the northern hemisphere winter you don’t see the Sun at all because it’s tilted away.

Let’s get on with listing the top 5 northern Prides. If you ever lower yourself and consult Google’s AI (which unfortunately I had to do to ensure I looked at all sources available), none of these locations will be mentioned. Hopefully, after I publish this, AI will finally get it right. As I’ve said since AI was invented, Artificial Intelligence is for people who have none of their own or too last to do any research. So, let’s discover the truth about the top 5 northernmost Prides in reverse order.

5) BARENTS PRIDE, KIRKENES, Norway – 69° 43' N

There can’t be many places where a city’s Pride is always held in a totally different country. Barents Pride may be the only one.

The inaugural Barents Pride, held in Finland near the Russian border, was in 2018. Even though it doesn’t comply with the criteria that Prides arranged due to a specific event after 2000 would not be considered, it’s included because of its continuity and current compliance with at least 3 other points.

Barents Pride was formed in response to the homophobic laws being introduced into Russia from 2010 onwards. The Russian lgbt community was sparked into action, but the anti-gay laws meant that protest was illegal and all participants could be arrested. This included the lgbt community in the Russian city of Murmansk (68° 58' N).

All was not lost, because across the border in the Finnish city of Kirkenes just over146 km (90 miles) away activists were organising protests that were legal. Activists from both cities joined together to create the first Barents Pride in Kirkenes, named after the Barents Sea which is the part of the Arctic Ocean that forms their joint coastline.

Of course, the Murmansk activists cannot make themselves known publicly for fear of arrest, so they tend not to advertise their presence at Barents Pride except to the Kirkenes lgbt community. Lgbt attendees from other Russian cities have also attended.

This year’s Barents Pride continues to serve as Kirkenes Pride and unofficial Murmasnk Pride and will take place in late September.

4) SÁPMI PRIDE, UTSJOKI, Finland – 69° 54' N

Europe is home to several multi-national Prides (I will cover these in more detail next year). The northernmost of these is Sápmi Pride, held in the northern regions of Norway, Sweden and Finland in the region called Samiland, the general area popularly known as Lapland. This area is the home to the ethnic people called the Sámi.

Sápmi Pride began in 2014 in Sweden and is held in a different location every year in one of the three above-mentioned countries. Sadly it cannot be held in the Sámi region of Russia because of the country’s anti-gay laws.

In 2020 Sápmi Pride was due to be held in Utsjoki, Finland, the furthest north that it been held. I’m sure you’ll know why it was cancelled (covid, of course). However, like the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Sápmi Pride in Utsjoki was just postponed for a year and was held in 2021 between 5 and 8 August.

This year’s Sápmi Pride also takes place in Finland in Inari (68° 54' N) on 8 August.

3) ALTA PRIDE, Norway – 69° 58' N

Alta was the first location north of the Arctic Circle to have a Pride. The current Alta Pride committee is apparently unaware of that their first Pride was held in 2010.

The first Alta Pride that is currently recognised by the committee took place from 25 to 28 August 2022, though there were a variety of lgbt events taking place the year before. The reason why I know about the 2010 Pride is because I made notes of media reports of it in my archives when it happened.

It has been common throughout history for younger generations to assume they are the first to do or think of anything important or new, like organising Pride. There may not have been any research done, or no contact with older generations who experienced such events. Although their intensions may be praised, younger generations have to learn that many people who were born before them are still alive and much can be learned from these older generations. Just because youngsters have left school, college or university it doesn’t mean they know everything. Sadly, they think they do, and it happens too often and youngsters are spreading a distorted view of history (“presentism” is mainly to blame, but my rant can wait for another day!).

I have to credit Alta with what history and what contemporary media reported, copied into my archives at the time, and say that the first Alta Pride was in 2010. This year’s Alta Pride will be from 20-23 August.

2) HAMMERFEST PRIDE, Norway – 70° 96' N.

The northernmost Pride on continental Europe. This is not a stand-along event like most Prides but is part of annual cultural festival held in the town of Hammerfest called Hammerfestendagen (Hammerfest Days). The festival usually lasts for a couple weeks and Hammerfest Pride is just one event among many. This year’s Hammerfestendagen is from 13-19 July.

Even though Hammerfest Pride is not a stand-along event it does have its own independent organising committee, programme of events and march. This year, their Pride march will take place on 16 July.

And the current record for being the location of the northernmost Pride on the entire planet goes to…

1) LONGYEARBYEN PRIDE, Svalbard, Norway – 78° 13' N.

Possibly also the remotest Pride in the northern hemisphere, furthest from any other human habitation. Longyearbyen is the main town on the Norwegian island of Svalbard almost 800 km (nearly 500 miles) from the northernmost point of continental Europe. It has a population of around 2,500.

The first Longyearbyen Pride was held on 17 August 2019 and was organised by Svalbard native Lene Leanette Dyngeland (b.1967). It has been held every year since including 2020. Svalbard is such a remote island that there was little chance of covid ever reaching it. This year’s Longyearbyen Pride will be on the last weekend in August.

The nearest other Pride to Longyearbyen is the above-mentioned Hammerfest Pride 870 km (540 miles) away.

So congratulations to the inhabitants of Svalbard and Longyearbyen. It is very unlikely that their record will ever be broken unless one of the very few towns in the northern part of Svalbard has its own Pride. The only other settlements further north are in Greenland, Canada and homophobic Russia, and it doesn’t look like any of them with be hosting a Pride any time soon. Don’t forget what I said above about Polar Pride. Some of their events may take place further north, but they are not really public in the strictest sense. More about that in November.

Tomorrow we’ll go as for away from Longyearbyar as possible when it comes to celebrating Pride and look at which five are the southernmost and nearest to the South Pole, as well as some honourable mentions.

Pride Tops and Bottoms

As the USA comes to the end of its Pride Month let’s look at some of the locations around the world that have held notable Pride events.

A couple of years ago I made lists of some of the first Prides and highest Prides. Since then there have been many hundreds of new Prides. Over the next three days I’ll give specific lists of the northernmost and southernmost Prides – the top and bottom of Pride, you could say.

There’s no universal definition of a Pride. The list below is purely my own choice of defining criteria compiled to help me to decide which Prides I could consider. It’s not intended as a universally accepted list.

I wanted to keep the list as simple as possible, but the more I thought about it the more points I came up with. I have considered as many variations of Pride that I can to ensure that no Pride is left out. However, there are some Prides which I think should not be included, and these are explained in the list.

In regions where homosexuality is illegal and Prides have been known to take place in secret in the past, they do not need to comply with any of the following criteria.

I realise that a lot of these points will be unnecessarily detailed, but they helped to organise my mind even if they confuse yours. So sorry if you think this list is a mess. Ideally, I think a Pride should try to include at least three points between 1 and 10.

1) It does not need to have the word “Pride” in its name. The event should ideally include the word Pride (or its equivalent in non-English languages) in its promotional material or make it clear that it can be referred to as a Pride.

2) The Pride must promote lgbt diversity, inclusion, acceptance and respect as its main objective. Protests can occur and be used as the central themes, but other issues must be included in the official programme. The organising committee should avoid making exclusions to any event based on politics, religion, or opposing views as much as possible, except when public safety to attendees, spectators, the public, or protestors could be at risk. The Pride must be non-violent.

3) Continuity over the years is not essential, though events can be regarded retrospectively as Pride by later Pride committees. See also point 5.

4) A Pride should be held only once in any calendar year (see points 9 and 10 for possible exceptions). Promotional and fund-raising events for Pride will not be considered.

6) The Pride must be advertised publicly giving its name, dates or full range of dates, and principal venues or focal point (e.g. for the march).

6) It should have an organising committee of three members or more, preferably volunteers. Historic inaugural Prides may not have had three committee members, and these will be considered if they complied with other points.

7) There should be a central public focal point accessible to all participants, whether in the open air or an indoor venue (excluding private residences). It may need to restrict the number of attendees due to limitations of space or safety requirements. For larger Prides there can be other content such as entertainment, food and drink venues, and a market which includes charity and community stalls. A festival of a variety of artistic events can also be organised or sanctioned by the Pride committee.

8) Any march or parade must be through public areas and open to all, free of charge, and non-violent, consisting of local lgbt communities and groups, and participants of diverse identities, political beliefs and opinions. This includes any planned march that is banned or cancelled. Exclusions should be avoided, except when public safety to attendees, spectators, the public, or protestors could be at risk.

9) A Pride can celebrate a specific identity (e.g. Transgender Pride, Black Pride, Leather Pride, etc.), but must welcome those who do not identify as members of that group as well as the public. These should take place on a different date or venue to any other Pride held in the same location, unless when held as a single joint event by their separate organising committees.

10) An official national, regional, provincial, or state Pride can take place simultaneously in difference cities, towns and locations. Each Pride must be officially publicised as being part of the regional Pride. Each location will be treated separately for the purpose of determining the geographical range of the regional Pride. Other Prides held on the same date but not connected to the regional Pride will be considered separately.

Finally, if the next point applies to any event that calls itself a Pride, it will not be considered for the time being (any exceptions are given).

11) The Pride event should not be organised for profit by an independent commercial business or company (e.g. Disney Gay days). Some Winter Prides held at ski resorts will only be considered if the Pride has not been organised by the ski resort itself. Pride events held by organisations, companies, charities, and businesses for their employees will not be considered, but they can be represented at Pride events. They can take part in the march, or have a market stall, but they must not be there to sell any of their products. There presence must only be to support the lgbt community (free handouts are usually welcome). Alternative Prides, held in direct competition to established Prides, will also not be considered for the time being.

These points cover most of what I think a Pride can be. They are not official and subject to constant revision, so if you know of a Pride that doesn’t meet at least three of points 1-10 but which obviously qualifies, make a comment below and I will amend the list after I’ve collected evidence of its eligibility should anyone question its inclusion in the future.

That’s enough of the boring bits. Tomorrow I’ll tell you what you really want to know, beginning with the TOP 5 northern Prides. The day after that I’ll list the BOTTOM 5 southern Prides.

Until then, the map below shows you the latitudes marked with a red line showing where those 10 listed Prides are located.

City Pride - Sydney

Following on from the Venice carnival we arrive at the actual day of Mardi Gras. For those who are unfamiliar with the origin of Mardi Gras, perhaps a little information may help. In medieval times Christians put aside several weeks of fasting and abstinence before important Christian festivals like Easter and Christmas. The most common terms for these periods are Lent and Advent respectively. Lent begins tomorrow, the day after Mardi Gras. In preparation, Christians would eat up all the food that they were going to deprive themselves of all the way up to Easter, especially meat. They would also celebrate with carnivals. Actually, “carnival” comes from a 15th century Italian term meaning “remove meat”, which implies the word was created specifically for Christian Mardi Gras celebrations. Today people have generally dropped the fasting element.

Perhaps the most famous Mardi Gras carnivals take place in Brazil and New Orleans, but undoubtedly the most famous lgbt+ Mardi Gras is that held in Sydney, Australia. This year’s Sydney Mardi Gras finished this past weekend. So, as a belated celebration, here is the latest entry in my “City Pride” series about Sydney.

The area I’ve concentrated on is just south of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Because Sydney has so much lgbt+ history it has been difficult to narrow it down to just 12 locations. Most of them may be known to a lot of Sydney citizens, but I have, as always, tried to find some lesser known locations, people or events that show the diversity of the lgbt+ culture in Sydney.

First of all, the area covered is in the Sydney Electoral District (except for a tiny bit of the bottom left hand corner of the map). The current MP for the Sydney electoral district in the New South Wales parliament is Alex Greenwich (b. 1980, into a princely dynasty from Georgia – the country, not the US state), who has been the representative since 2012. He was the first openly gay elected member.

The locations are listed from north to south.

1) Speaker’s Corner, The Domain

John Webster (1913-2008) was a regular speaker at Speaker’s Corner for over 30 years. His distinctive voice is remembered by many older Sydney citizens of all political ideologies, genders and faiths. His opinion on all these issues evolved over the years. Briefly married twice, he is also known to have had gay relationships. His ashes were scattered around the Speaker’s podium.

2) St. James’s Church

In the summer of 1836 Rev. William Yate (1802-1877), a British missionary fresh from New Zealand, was appointed chaplain to this church. It was while he was here that reports were made to the authorities of his homosexual activity with sailors and Maori youths. Yate protested his innocence, and no evidence of actual sodomy was proven. Nevertheless, he was dismissed and was sent back to the UK by December. He took with him Edwin Denison, the Third Mate he “befriended” on the ship that brought him to Sydney. He died as chaplain of the Mariners Church in Dover.

3) Sydney Town Hall

One of the locations that were part of the demonstrations that took place in Gay Pride Week 1973. On 15 September activists marched to the hall. Among the banners they carried was what I consider to be the world’s first lgbt+ community flag – a black flag with a pink triangle in the centre. Previous flags had belonged to specific organisations, but in Sydney this flag was adopted by all sections of the community. I write in more detail about the use of this flag here.

Currently, there are a record four lgbt+ elected members on the city council, Zann Maxwell, Matthew Thompson, Mitch Wilson and Adam Worling, all elected last October. Zann Maxwell was appointed the city’s Deputy Mayor.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Sydney Olympics. At the end of each day of the torch relay there was a ceremony involving the lighting of a “community cauldron”. On the night before the opening ceremony the final leg of the relay went from Sydney Harbour Bridge and down George Street to the Town Hall. The last torch bearer was the world’s top female golfer at the time, Australia’s Karrie Webb, who lit the community cauldron.

4) St. Andrew’s Cathedral

One of the few non-political Australian state funerals took place here in 1986. It was to honour the Australian ballet dancer and choreographer Sir Robert Helpmann (1909-1986). He is most famous for his role as the Child Catcher in the film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (a character invented for the film). Helpmann was the first in a long line of openly lgbt+ performers to play this character in its many theatre productions. These include Stephen Gately, Wayne Sleep, Paul O’Grady, Richard O’Brien, and The Vivienne.

5) Junction of William Street and College Street, Australia Museum

During WorldPride 2023, hosted by Sydney, many artistic expressions of lgbt+ culture were on display. One of the most unusual, located outside the museum entrance, was the Progress Shark, a huge life-size model of a great white shark dressed in a Progress Flag-inspired lycra swimsuit. Created by Sydney-based artist George Buchanan, the shark quickly became a tourist attraction and icon of WorldPride. Like many artworks created for the occasion it was taken down afterwards.

6) 110 Bathurst Street

This is currently a modern multi-storey building home to various businesses, but back in the 1920s it was a residential area. This address was, for a couple of years, the art studio and salon of Australian sculptor and artist Dora Ohlfsen-Bagge (1869-1948) and her partner Baroness Helene von Kügelgen (d.1948). Although they lived in Rome most of the time, Dora revisited Sydney and produced many works for Australian clients. These included designing the ANZAC medal, and many sculptures that are now lost or destroyed.

7) 29 Pelican Street

In 1948 this address became the home of Iris Webber (1906-1953), described by local newspapers as “the most violent woman in Sydney”. She is a perfect subject for one of my “Extraordinary Lives” series. Condensing her life down to a few sentences has been difficult, but here goes. Iris was married twice and had at least two female partners. She shot three men (including her first husband, and killing another) but was acquitted each time. She was either arrested or convicted of assault at least 4 times (twice with a tomahawk). She was arrested many times for busking and begging, illegally selling alcohol, and robbery (with her then partner Vera). Iris’s last court appearance was for contempt of court in 1952.

8) National Art School, formerly Darlinghurst Gaol.

This old jail once housed several notable lgbt+ prisoners, the most well-known being the bushranger known as Captain Moonlite (Andrew Scott, 1842-1880). Born in Ireland, Scott can be said to have been a bit of an adventurer, travelling the world fighting as something of a mercenary before arriving in Australia in 1867. While living as a lay reader in a church in the gold fields, he was masquerading as Captain Moonlite, robbing a local bank agent. Caught and convicted, Scott met James Nesbit in jail and the two formed a relationship. After release he struggled to find work, and attacked a cattle station with his gang. Nesbit was killed, but Scott was captured and later hanged in the jail.

The current art school opened in 1921 has had many lgbt+ alumni and has hosted many exhibition by lgbt+ artists.

9) Green Park – LGBT Holocaust Memorial

This monument, designed by Jennifer Gamble and Russell Rodrigo, commemorates the many lgbt+ victims of the Nazis during the Holocaust. The pink triangle that gay prisoners were forced to wear has become an iconic symbol of gay rights in the 1970s. The Jewish Museum is located across the road to the north on Burton Street. In this year when we remember the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II it is essential we recognise diversity of opinion by people on all sides, without anger, hatred, or violence.

10) 301 Forbes Street – Qtopia

Sydney’s first permanent lgbt+ museum, said to be the world’s biggest, opened here in February 2024 in buildings that were originally Darlinghurst’s police station. As the police station it was where people arrested on homosexual charges were held in custody. This included a large number of participants in Sydney’s first Mardi Gras in 1978, people who proudly sport the name of The 78ers. Sadly, a sign of the times included police brutality against those in custody. The museum also has sections on AIDS, and a reconstructed AIDS ward from the neighbouring St. Vincent’s Hospital where many AIDS patients were treated.

11) Junction of Campbell Street and Little Bourke Street

On the night of 31 March 1962, the body of Frank McLean was discovered several metres south of this junction. He was one of several gay victims of William MacDonald, whom the media labelled as “The Mutilator”. MacDonald picked his victims up in gay venues, took them to a private location and murdered them, slashing their bodies and severing their genitals. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in 2015.

12) Taylor Square – The Rainbow Crossing

Sydney’s famous crossing was first established in 2013 for that year’s Mardi Gras. However, due to concerns that people standing on it to take selfies put them in danger of being run over, the city removed it. This sparked as spate of graffiti chalk rainbow crossing popping up across the city in protest. Thankfully, the city council realised the importance of such a statement of identity and repainted crossing in 2019.

City Pride: Singapore

I haven’t done a “City Pride” for a long time. In fact, I think the last one I did was for Paris to celebrate the Gay Games in 2018. So, last year I decided it was time to highlight another city and its lgbt+ heritage. The question was, which city? Then I noticed I had a lot of readers in Singapore, and I realised that I knew hardly anything about its lgbt+ community, except for Pink Dot. So, after months of looking for appropriate points in Singapore’s queer history and culture I have selected the following. The main task was to find places that are grouped together which are as diverse as the community itself.

If you’re from Singapore I doubt any of these will be unknown to you, and I hope I have done my research correctly.

As before, the map is not intended to be used as the means for you to get from one location to another. It is intended purely as a rough guide to where the locations are situated. Many roads and streets are omitted, but I hope there is enough information for you to find them on proper maps.

1) Crocodile Rock, Scotts Road - The oldest and longest-running lesbian bar in Singapore, operating between 1992 and 2007. Alternatively known as Croc Rock.

2) KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Bukit Timah Road - More Singaporians have been born here than in any other hospital in Singapore, so naturally this would include a lot of lgbt+ people. However, the reason I put it on this list is because it was also the hospital which performed the first male-to-female sex-assignment surgery in the country in 1971.

3) Pelangi Pride Centre, Rowell Road - This is the original location of Singapore’s first lgbt+ centre. It was founded in 2003 by the city’s Action for AIDS (AfA) charity in the offices above their headquarters. Both the Pelangi Pride Centre and Action for AIDS have moved to other premises (see number 4).

4) Action for AIDS (AfA), Kelantan Lane - The charity’s present location. AfA was founded in 1988 by dermatologist Dr. Roy Chan (b.1955) who is still it’s President. Dr. Chan competed for Singapore in swimming at the 1972 Olympics.

5) The Substation, Armenian Street - The first independent contemporary arts centre in Singapore, founded in 1990 on the site of a former power station. It has organised many exhibitions of lgbt+ artists and interests. It was the venue of the monthly forum of People Like Us (PLU), 1993-4, an lgbt+ lobby group formed in 1993.

6) Suntec Singapore International Conference and Exhibition Centre - Venue of Singapore’s first National AIDS Conference on 12 December 1998. At this conference Paddy Chew became the first person in Singapore to come out publicly as having HIV. He died the following year. His life was the basis for the play “Completely With/Out Character” by Haresh Sharma. More recently, it was the venue for the wrestling competition at the very first Youth Olympic Games in 2010 (see number 8). Here, the oldest of the 9 lgbt+ athletes, 17-year-old Jenna Burkert, competed for the USA.

7) Rascals, Pan Pacific Hotel - Rascals was a club that organised a gay night at the Pan Pacific Hotel every Sunday. On 30 May 1993, Singapore police raided the club and interrogated its customers. It is regarded as Singapore’s “Stonewall”, an event which had a significant effect on the lgbt community and its future.

8) The Float, Marina Bay - With my specialist interest in the Olympics it comes as no surprise that I mention it several times. The very first Youth Olympic Games were held in Singapore in 2010. The opening ceremony was held at The Float, and is the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held on water, despite what Paris 2024 thinks. The Singapore Youth Olympics were also significant for currently having the most known lgbt+ athletes, 9, though none of them were publicly out at the time. Among them was British diver Tom Daley, the only one of the 9 who had competed in a previous Olympics (Beijing 2008, aged 14). If Tom makes it to Paris 2024 without injury, he will equal US equestrian rider Robert Dover’s record of competing at 6 Olympics. Only one lgbt+ Youth Olympian won a medal in Singapore 2010, a gold for Austrian sailor Lara Vadlau. She, like Tom Daley, has qualified for Paris 2024.

 9) Pink Dot, Speaker’s Corner, Hong Lim Park - Location of the annual Pink Dot Pride event. The first was held here on 16 May 2009, when it attracted the largest attendance for any gathering at Speaker’s Corner up to that date. The only years it was not held here were during the covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021 when they were held online. Pink Dot events have been held in other cities around the world, all following the same signature format of attendees wearing pink.

10) Boat Quay - Before this area was redeveloped in the 1990s, the streets around Boat Quay were popular cruising grounds for gay men.

A Reminder About A Reminder

In April I wrote a few words about a gay activist who was present at the 1969 Stonewall Riots and who suggested a commemorative march to mark its first anniversary. His name was Craig Rodwell (1940-1993), and he is often overlooked by modern lgbt activists who claim the gay rights movement began with Stonewall.

It is fair to say that the Pride movement, rather than the gay rights movement, began with Stonewall. Specifically, it began with the Chicago Gay Pride march on 27th June 1970, but most people tend to think of the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day march (retrospectively regarded as the first New York City Pride) on 28th June as the beginning of Pride. In all, four US cities held a march specifically to commemorate the first anniversary of Stonewall on 27th/28th June 1970 – chronologically, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Today it is easy for the younger generation not to realise that the act of protest against homophobia existed before 1970. Craig Rodwell not only came up with the idea of the first Pride march but also of an annual event that the first Pride marches replaced.

In April 1965 Frank Kameny, the activist mentioned in an “80 More Gays” article last month, organised a picket outside the White House in Washington DC. This was part of his ongoing campaign to persuade American society that gay men and lesbian women were ordinary people who deserved equal treatment under the law.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Craig Rodwell took this picket as inspiration for a new one to be held on 4th July, the Independence Day holiday. Frank Kameny and the organisers of the Washington picket were enthusiastic about the idea and set about organising the event.

A brief word about the organisation of the Washington picket. Frank Kameny was a member of the Mattachine Society, a gay rights organisation founded in the 1950s. This group, however, did not act alone when holding pickets and demonstrations. The Daughters of Bilitis and the Janus Society of Philadelphia were also involved. Together they formed the East Coast Homophile Organisation (ECHO). If I ever get the time I’ll do some in-depth research into the pre-Stonewall lgbt groups and activists and create something like the rock family trees that were popular in the 1990s. However, I digress.

Craig Rodwell’s choice of holding a picket on Independence Day was deliberate. In the words of Craig himself the picket was to “remind the American people that a substantial number of American citizens were denied their rights of ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’.”, as enshrined in the American constitution. Because it expressed the need to “remind” the picket became known as the Annual Reminder.

It took just a few weeks for the first Reminder to be organised. Thankfully, ECHO’s Washington picket was a perfect template. It included a dress code. Picketers were expected to wear ordinary, everyday suits or dresses, depending on their gender, in order to portray themselves as what they were – ordinary citizens. Modern Pride marches usually have no dress code.

The first Annual Reminder took place on 4th July 1965 outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Four more followed in the next successive years on the same date. They can’t be called marches because they were held in one location. These pickets were never very large. There were 39 picketers at the first one, and 150 at the last. They attracted very little media coverage, or even any nationwide response from the lgbt community. All this changed in the week before the final Annual Reminder took place on 4th July 1969. Below is a Youtube video of the 1968 Annual Reminder.

You may have realised that the date of that last Reminder is just a week after the Stonewall Riots in New York. That riot came at the end of a decade which saw many similar civil and human rights protests which characterised the 1960s. The organisers of the Annual Reminder realised that a new generation of lgbt campaigners would not likely participate in a subdued picket-style demonstration and they decided that the next Annual Reminder in the week following Stonewall would be the last and gave their support to the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day march.

Craig Rodwell was not a customer at the Stonewall when the police raid began. He and his partner Fred Sargeant went past the bar on their way home from another venue. They saw the raid taking place and the growing protest. They later contacted several new agencies to cover the event but only the New York Times responded. Throughout the following days and nights of the unrest Craig and Fred distributed leaflets denouncing the police and mafia connections to the Stonewall inn.

Craig attended the final Annual Reminder a week later, and circumstances were now in place that would eventually lead to the first Pride marches in 1970.

ECHO had been reformed in 1966 as the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organisations (ERCHO). At the meeting of ERCHO in November 1969 in Philadelphia the idea of the first Pride march was put forward by Craig. That meeting had some very heated debates. Ellen Broidy (featured in same “80 More Gays” as Craig Rodwell and Frank Kameny) became embroiled in a disagreement with L. Craig Schoonmaker over abortion rights; radical left-wing politics were resisted by the “older” activists; and there was opposition to Frank Kameny’s insistence on a dress code. Thankfully, there were things they agreed on, three things in particular. These were accepting Craig Rodwell’s suggestion of a march, the choosing of the date of the march to coincide with the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and the suggestion by Schoonmaker that Gay Pride be chosen as the overall name.

Once the date and name were chosen the organisation of the first Pride march began. It was decided to call it the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day march and most of the early committee meetings took place in Craig Rodwell’s apartment in New York.

Several other cities had similar events to mark the anniversary of Stonewall, as mentioned above, though there was no cross-nation organisation.

And so the Pride movement was born. It was more radical, direct, vocal and political than the previous pickets and organised demonstrations. The Annual Reminders were the first regular yearly lgbt protest demonstrations which influenced the modern Pride march. Craig Rodwell was instrumental in the transition. In any history of Pride he cannot be left out.

In what should have been a year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Pride march we are finding other ways to spread the message of diversity and acceptance.

An Advocate for Pride

This is a historic year for Pride. Firstly because 2020 is the 50th anniversary of the first modern Pride march that took place in Chicago on 27th June 1970, and secondly because this is the first year since then that the majority of the 2020 Pride marches have either been postponed or cancelled. Thank goodness Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras took place as planned before the pandemic lockdown.

Little did we know on New Year’s Day that six months later at the start of Pride Month the whole world would be in lockdown. In a way it gives an opportunity to re-evaluate the message of Pride. It’s time for people in cities around the world to realise just how privileged they are. This year they can feel how many of us felt for decades – left out of Pride. Pride events are still an activity only accessible to those who can afford, or able, to travel. Perhaps now more than any other time in the history of Pride Month provides a unique opportunity to reach out and involve all those in the lgbt community who have never been able to attend a Pride event, either by physical or geographical circumstances, by political restrictions, or family and cultural pressures.

I grew up in a rural village in north Nottinghamshire. I didn’t knowingly meet another gay man until I was 32. The only gay role models were camp stereotypes in television comedies which I could not identify or sympathise with. Not once was any attempt made by lgbt activist in a city to reach out to me. I had to take a 50-mile bus ride to my nearest city once a month before that happened. The isolation was depressing. City-based lgbt communities should think themselves lucky they HAVE a community, because many people around the world don’t and are ignored.

Fifty years after the first Pride its time to change. Many Prides will go online this year. They should reach out to those isolated outside cities and towns. It’s a start, but will it continue? Will Prides next year return to the privileged metropolitan elite? Sermon over.

We know that the word “pride” was used 50 years ago for the commemorations of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, even if it wasn’t applied to the marches. It was suggested by Lee Craig Schoonmaker (1944-2018) at a committee meeting of the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day (retrospectively the first New York City Pride) that Gay Pride Week would sound better than the proposed Gay Power Week. But there was an earlier use, and it is very likely that Schoonmaker got his idea from there.

It appears in the abbreviation of a 1960s gay right organisation called Personal Rights in Defense and Education – P.R.I.D.E. Its legacy is still felt today, and not just because of the use of the word “pride”.

Way back in the early 1960s there were several gay and lesbian rights organisations in the USA. The most well-known of these were the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis. When these were formed in the 1950s the emphasis was on convincing society that gays and lesbians were ordinary people and not perverts or mentally ill. They organised pickets and peaceful protests in a very conservative manner so as to appear “normal”.

Younger generations of the 1960s were more attracted to the general civil rights movements that emerged with its vocal message and active protests. Even before the Stonewall Riots of 1969 several lgbt rights activists took to the newer methods of political protest and radical approach with enthusiasm. Police raids on gay bars and police intimidation grew in the 1960s and the response from the lgbt community needed to be equally more aggressive.

In May 1966 in Los Angeles a 27-year-old activist called Steve Ginsburg (1939-2007) decided to form P.R.I.D.E. Steve may rightly be credited with starting to bring a new definition to an old word, the meaning of lgbt Pride that has now become accepted in the world’s dictionaries.

Steve wanted to instil pride into the lgbt community, hence his deliberate choice of the organisation’s name. In particular the part of the community he wanted to reach were constantly being targeted by the police, the gay bars and venues, what Steve called the “leather and lace crowd”.

The first real test of P.R.I.D.E.’s response to police harassment came after New Year’s Day 1967. The Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles had only been open for a few weeks and it was packed to celebrate the New Year. Also in the bar were several undercover, plain clothes police officers. On the stroke of midnight several gay couples celebrated with the traditional kiss. This was enough for the police to launch their raid. Several party-goers were beaten and 14 people were arrested. Steve Ginsburg and P.R.I.D.E. decided this was the time to make a stand and they organised one of several demonstrations that were held across Los Angeles a few weeks later in February.

The call for volunteers and participants for P.R.I.D.E.’s demonstration was advertised in their monthly newsletter. Several members of P.R.I.D.E. – Richard Michaels, Bill Rand and Sam Winston – realised that the newsletter was in need of a wider circulation with more news of what was happening. Later in 1967 the newsletter was renamed “Los Angeles Advocate”. This newsletter evolved into the present day “Advocate” magazine and is another legacy of P.R.I.D.E.

From Pride to Advocate - evolution of a publication

The demonstration in response to the Black Cat raid was relatively peaceful compared to the Stonewall Riots. There was certainly no riot. For some gay rights groups at the time even those peaceful P.R.I.D.E. demonstrations were too radical. There was also some dissatisfaction within P.R.I.D.E. that being radical was the wrong direction for activism. You could say that P.R.I.D.E was three years too early. In 1968 the committee decided to dissolve the organisation.

Less than a year later the Stonewall Riots took place. While it is generally regarded as the turning point in lgbt history, the Black Cat raids and P.R.I.D.E. should share that distinction.

Steve Ginsburg continued with his activism. In 1973 he was co-chair of the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco (retrospectively the 3rd San Francisco Pride). Steve also founded an organisation for lgbt Jews called Chutzpah. Later in life Steve became somewhat reclusive and he died in 2007 at the age of 68.

However you celebrate Pride Month, don’t forget that Stonewall didn’t start it, Black Cat came before it, and there are many lgbt individuals in the world who still cannot celebrate.