The colour, the smiles, the celebrations, the outfits. Where do you even begin to explain how beautiful, wholesome and fierce this years Pride in London was? People came in their thousands to be a part of, and witness, the jubilant scenes of this wonderful occasion. As the parade made its way through the packed crowds around Trafalgar Square, the cheering was almost deafening. Pride is always a great event to be a part of; it's a chance for the LGBT+ community to come out and show that they love who they are, what they represent, how far the community has come but also how far we've yet to go to achieve equality. Sadly, homophobic attacks rose 147% in three months after the Brexit vote, showing that even the most lawfully equal of societies has a lot of work to do.
Travelling is all about experiencing and welcoming a whole range of cultures that may put you out of your comfort zone, and the more people travel, the more open their minds become. With that in mind, only 27 countries in the world have so far legalised gay marriage. For LGBT+ travellers, this is a pretty difficult pill to swallow. The 27 countries are as follows:
2000: The Netherlands
The country became the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. The following year, four couples married in the world’s first same-sex wedding in 2001. [Associated Press]
To see what Amsterdam has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2003: Belgium
Three years after the new law was enacted, the country’s parliament granted same-sex couples the right to adopt in 2006. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Brussels has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2005: Canada
The nation's traditional definition of civil marriage was changed to include the union between same-sex couples. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Canada has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2005: Spain
The new law gave same-sex couples all of the same marital and adoption rights as heterosexual citizens. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Spain has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2006: South Africa
The measure passed by a margin of greater than five-to-one with support from major opposing political parties. [Pew Research Center]
To see what South Africa has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2008: Norway
One year after legalizing same-sex marriage, the country’s Lutheran Church voted to allow its pastors to marry same-sex couples in 2009. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Norway has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2009: Sweden
Months before the bill passed in October 2009, the country’s governing church board initiated a petition to permit same-sex marriages. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Sweden has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2010: Argentina
Argentina was the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Buenos Aires has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2010: Portugal
Six years after Portugal's parliament legalized same-sex marriage, the country granted gay couples the right to adopt. [Reuters]
To see what Lisbon has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2010: Iceland
Iceland legalized same-sex marriage in a unanimous vote. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Reykjavik has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2012: Denmark
Prior to legalizing same-sex marriage, Denmark was the first country to recognize same-sex couples as domestic partners. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Copenhagen has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2013: Uruguay
The country’s inclusive legislation of LGBT rights began to attract thousands of tourists each year since passing the law to legalize same-sex marriage in 2013. [National LGBT Chamber of Commerce]
To see what Montevideo has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2013: Brazil
Over 3,700 marriages took place in 2013 after same-sex marriage was legalized. [GLAAD]
To see what Rio has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2013: New Zealand
The measure to legalize same-sex marriage in New Zealand won approval by a 77-44 margin. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Auckland has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2013: UK
After the landmark decision was made, former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said, "No matter who you are and who you love, we are equal." [BBC]
To see what Brighton has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2013: France
The first same-sex wedding took place in France and was met with great applause by the public. [BBC]
To see what Paris has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2014: Luxembourg
The new law was the first major reform of the country’s marriage laws since 1804. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Luxembourg City has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2014: Scotland
Three years after the majority of the Scottish Parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriage, the Scottish Episcopal Church became the UK's first major Christian church to perform same-sex marriages. [BBC]
To see what Glasgow has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2015: United States
The hashtag #LoveWins almost immediately became the number-one trending hashtag in the world on Twitter after the U.S. legalized same-sex marriage.
To see what Orlando has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2015: Ireland
Ireland was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular vote. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Dublin has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2015: Finland
The bill to call for the legislation of same-sex marriage started out as a "citizen's initiative" - with a reported 167,000 signatures. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Helsinki has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2015: Greenland
The country's legislators passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on the world's biggest island. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Greenland has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2016: Colombia
The country enacted the new law by a 6-3 vote stating, “All people are free to choose independently to start a family in keeping with their sexual orientation.” [Pew Research Center]
To see what Colombia has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2017: Malta
Parliament’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage was nearly unanimous, despite criticism from the Catholic Church. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Malta has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2017: Australia
The LGBT rights advocates celebrated the new law outside Australia’s Parliament House before the final decision was announced.
To see what Australia has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
2017: Germany
The country’s bill received an overwhelming amount of public support. Parliament approved the measure in a 393-226 vote. [Pew Research Center]
To see what Cologne has to offer for the LGBT+ community, click here.
Ben was on hand the whole day capturing the festivities with his trusty camera and got some awesome shots. Check out his full gallery!
All credit for the awesome linked articles are the property of those who wrote them and not ours!
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