Rainbow flag

© Matt Jeacock/Getty Image

Flying the flag for Pride. Pride 2022

We’re commemorating Pride Weekend, a time when the focus turns to the LGBTQ+ community and a celebration of gay rights. The first pride parades took to the streets in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in June 1970, remembering the Stonewall Uprising in Greenwich Village, New York City, the previous year. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, police dragged staff and patrons from the Stonewall Inn bar, a gay venue, sparking six days of protests. Now Pride parades and events are celebrated each June in most parts of the world – New York City’s is still one of the largest Pride celebrations. In 1999, President Bill Clinton gave Pride Month national recognition by declaring June ‘Gay & Lesbian Pride Month.’

Our photo today, of course, is the now-iconic rainbow flag that symbolises LGBTQ+ Pride. It’s a lively, hopeful statement that promotes inclusivity and acceptance. Long may it wave.