Just Charli

Why I Can’t Wait Until Gay Pride 2015

Gay Pride 2015 organised by ACCEPT is an event coming up in my resident country of Cyprus on June 6th 2015 and I’m excited… Here’s why I can’t wait until gay pride 2015.

Pride is a celebration of identity and an explosion of colour. Everywhere you look, there are rainbow flags flying and glitter raining down. Everything is vibrant, from the atmosphere to the smiles on everyone’s faces. There is probably nothing else like it – where else are you going to be able to see a man wearing a cock ring thong dancing on the street with hundreds of other men and women all similarly clad and covered in face paint?

As a writer, one of the things I love the most is to absorb myself in the world of others and spend time listening to people’s stories. After attending the first gay pride in Cyprus last year I was so inspired and I believe that this year will be even better. Attending the event with my gay best friends last year was an experience I will remember forever and I fell in love with the atmosphere. Speaking to attendees young, old, straight,gay, English, Canadian, Cypriot you name it, there was one common thread… #EQUALITY.

And equality is an important issue. Did you know that 73% of LGBTQs have been harassed online due to sexual orientation or gender identity?

From a social media perspective, gay pride is a pure delight! I loved tweeting about the event, sharing photos, tagging myself in YouTube videos (where I seemed to appear a lot) and meeting a great bunch of people in person and online. Using the hashtags #CyprusGayPride #Equality and #LoveForAll I was able to share my photos with everyone around the world following the event and also look at all other relevant tweets.

I am hoping to write some blogs on the event to show the world that whoever you are and whatever your orientation, the event welcomes you. A summer festival filled with smiles, rainbow flags, friendship and hope.

If you are attending gay pride 2015 I would love to hear from you – tweet me @charli_says