NYC Pride March: Ten of thousands expected on streets for city’s largest ever LGBT+ parade

Around four million people are expected to attend various events throughout the weekend

(AFP/Getty )

New York City is expecting its largest Pride parade ever on Sunday, with an estimated 115,000 people in attendance.

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, during which members of the LGBT+ community responded to a police raid of the New York City bar the Stonewall Inn with a series of riots, bringing a major jolt to the LGBT+ rights movement. The annual Pride March in Manhattan pays tribute to those events, and this year’s, hosted by WorldPride, is expected to see the largest turnout ever.

Last year’s parade hosted over 550 groups and more than 100 floats. Those numbers are expected to be even larger this year, with community organisations, local activist groups, and corporate sponsors among those behind the inventive displays, according to CNN.

The NYPD also said that roughly four million people are expected to attend various Pride events through the weekend, including Saturday’s Dyke March, and various neighbourhood events. Though spread out throughout two days, and around New York City, that number is about four times the usual crowds at Times Square during the city’s famed New Year’s Eve celebration.

Police say they’ll be sending extra enforcement to deal with the large numbers. Their presence is often a source of tension at the event, due to the past iteration of the NYPD’s targeted harassment of queer and gender-nonconforming people in New York that set off the events celebrated during Pride.

Earlier this month, James P O’Neill, the current NYPD commissioner, apologised for those actions during an event at Police Headquarters, saying “The actions taken by the NYPD were wrong — plain and simple.” The apology was taken in stride.