world pride in new york city

June, 2019 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which are widely regarded as the birth of the modern gay rights movement. Because New York City is where it all started, this year’s celebration is being dubbed “World Pride 2019.” LGBTQIA+ travelers from around the world will be coming to New York to take part in the many events and activities to mark the anniversary. If your “gay agenda” includes visiting New York City to celebrate this milestone, we’d love to help you plan that!

With so many events occurring in New York City around Pride, it’s hard to know where to start. Here’s just a sampling of all there is to do:

Art After Stonewall at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art.

While in New York for Pride, you can visit he first major exhibition to examine the impact of the LGBTQ civil-rights movement on the art world, with over 150 works of art ranging from Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe to Diane Arbus and Karen Finley. The exhibit runs from April 21 to July 21 at the Leslie-Lohman Museum.

Queens and Brooklyn Pride Celebrations

If you’re not able to get to New York for the main pride march, there are terrific celebrations on other weekends in Brooklyn and Queens. Queens Pride will take place on June 2, in Jackson Heights. In Brooklyn, Pride will be June 8. Both celebrations will have a parade, as well as a festival featuring food, drink and opportunities to connect with local community organizations.

Brooklyn Pride Run

If you’re a runner, why not join the Brooklyn 5K Pride Run? The run takes place on June 8, in the morning, and the course will take you through beautiful Prospect Park—the incredible jewel of Brooklyn designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. It’s a great way to kick off Brooklyn’s Pride Festival in New York City’s best borough. (Okay—we may be biased, since we’re headquartered in Brooklyn. So sue us!)

Chelsea Challenge 2019

New York City is home to a slew of gay sports leagues ranging from bowling to volleyball to rugby. And one of those leagues is hosting a—wait for it, wait for it—gay hockey tournament. From June 21 to 23, gay hockey players from around the world will come to New York to participate in a tournament at the ice rink at Chelsea Piers. Believe it or not, this will be the 19th year of the tournament. So if you want ice hockey in the summer, you know where to find it!

Pride Cosplay with Geeks OUT

NYC Pride will be bring back a cosplay event, in partnership with  Geeks OUT, on Saturday, June 22 at Pier 40. Geeks OUT is the non-profit organization behind FlameCon—the largest queer comic con in the world, so you know that this party is going to be everything you could possibly hope for. Get your costumes ready, and get ready to geek out with Geeks OUT!

Human Rights Conference

Gay rights are human rights, and New York Law School will be hosting a gathering of activists, artists, educators, journalists, policymakers, students, and others engaged in LGBTQIA+ human rights around the world. From June 24 to 25, the conference will provide a unique opportunity to participate in a global dialogue about human rights, ranging from performances to presentations, politics to policies, and activism to academics.

NYC Pride March

Yep, this is the big one! The march this year will take place on June 30, and as if it’s even possible, this year will be larger than ever. In 2018, more than 550 organizations marched, with more than 100 floats. It’s going to be epic! The march kicks off in Madison Square, goes down 5th Avenue, through the Village, past the Stonewall Inn, and then up 7th Avenue, past the AIDS memorial.

Keep in mind, this is just a small sampling of the pride celebrations happening in the month of June in New York City. Everything from Family Movie Night to rallies to parties to film festivals—you won’t run out of things to do to celebrate pride.

And, if you’d like help planning your visit to World Pride, we’d love to work with you. We’re travel advisors based in New York City, and we’re proud IGLTA members—the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. Let’s show our pride in New York City!