Bangkok to hold 6km pride parade to conclude Pride Month celebration
Thailand’s longest ever pride parade scheduled for June 30 in downtown Bangkok as country legalises same-sex marriage
Preparation is under way for LOVE PRIDE ♥ PARADE 2024, the kingdom’s longest pride parade, scheduled for June 30 in downtown Bangkok to mark the conclusion of Pride Month, which has been celebrating gender diversity and equality of the LGBTQIAN+ communities since June 1.
Pride Month this year is extra-special in Thailand now that it has become the first ASEAN country to legalise same-sex marriage. The Senate approved the Equal Marriage Bill during final deliberation on Tuesday (June 18), and the law is expected to be in effect around the end of the year.
The LOVE PRIDE ♥ PARADE 2024 project is organised under a collaboration among the government, public agencies and private sector comprising more than 100 corporations and organisations. Held under the concept “Love, Equality, Peace”, the event aims to complement the government’s policy of making Thailand a global pride-festival destination and an entertainment hub of Asia.
The policy is part of the government’s Ignite Thailand initiative, which aims to make the country a hub for tourism, medical treatment, food, aviation, logistics, electric vehicles, digital economy and finance by 2030.
The Mall Group, one of the organisers of the parade, has said that LOVE PRIDE ♥ PARADE 2024 would be the longest parade in Asia. The parade will start at 4pm on Sunday June 30 at the National Stadium in Pathum Wan district. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will preside over the opening ceremony, the company said.
The parade will then proceed along Rama I Road through Pathum Wan Intersection, Siam Square, Ratchaprasong Intersection, Phloen Chit Road, Asoke Intersection, and Sukhumvit Road for a distance of around 6 kilometres, before ending at Benchasiri Park, where a concert will be held from 6.30pm onward.
Participating in the parade will be members of the LGBTQIAN+ communities, celebrities, influencers, and convoys comprising decorated trailer trucks, sports cars, and tuk-tuks, Thailand’s iconic motor tricycles.
Representatives of public organisations, businesses, hotels, airlines, and tourism and sport industries will also join the colourful march.
The Mall Group estimates that the parade will attract more than a million spectators, including Thai and foreign tourists, at the venue and via live broadcast on online platforms.
