From Montparnasse to Bastille, this is one of the biggest outdoor events of the year in the city, and certainly the most colourful. The Gay Pride march transforms Paris into a huge collective party where everyone is welcome, and for its 30th anniversary things should wilder than ever!

The event is organised by the “Interassociative lesbienne, gaie, bi et trans” (LGBT) and officially called the “Marche des Fiertés” (basically because the term Gay Pride has been sold off as a trademark) but everyone still refers to it as Gay Pride (a lot simpler).

The event kicks of at Montparnasse at 1.30pm Saturday 27th June and marching starts at 2pm. If you think the route to Bastille looks a little short, you may not realise that it takes about five hours to get there as it is, with tens of floats and hundreds of thousands of participants.

You may well be asked for a contribution along the way, as the organisers do not receive any public money for the event, and at 4.30pm precisely all music is stopped for a a three-minute silence in memory of those who have dies from AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses. The march’s slogan this year is “Proud of our struggle. When will we have real equality?”

If you’ve never seen Gay Pride in Paris, try standing somewhere along the route and watching it all go by. You’ll be entertained! The huge party at Bastille has to be seen to be believed as well…

You can join the Facebook group of the even here here.

And there’s a lot more info (in French) on the official Paris Gay Pride Marche des Fiertés site here.