Tel Aviv Pride Week is back again this year for what is expected to be its biggest turnout yet. The highlight of the annual festivities is the pride parade, set for June 8, where colorful floats and marchers will head down the Tel Aviv Promenade celebrating this year’s theme, “The Community Makes History.”
The theme acknowledges three historical milestones – 10 years since the founding of the Gay Center in Tel Aviv, 20 years since Tel Aviv’s first pride parade and 70 years of Israeli independence.
Hundreds of thousands of people from Israel and around the world are expected to descend on Tel Aviv starting June 3 for events, parties and performances that celebrate the city’s vibrant LGBTQ community. That includes American TV host and TV personality Andy Cohen, who will serve as the Tel Aviv Pride 2018 international ambassador this year.
The action-packed week culminates in a massive parade, known as the largest pride event in Asia and the Middle East, as well as one of the largest pride parades in the world.
According to the municipality, the parade’s start point this year has been changed from Gan Meir to the corner of Ben Zion Boulevard and Melchet Street due to the record number of people expected.
Israeli Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai is set to perform at the famous beach party at Charles Clore Park, at the end of the parade route, along with other Israeli and international artists.
Last year, more than 200,000 people from Israel and abroad attended Tel Aviv’s pride parade, with an estimated 30,000 of them from overseas.