The world’s first bisexual pride march is happening
The world’s first major bisexual pride march is set to take place this year.
Tel Aviv Pride is set to take place this summer, and for the first time its theme will be ‘Bisexual Visibility’.
The event, which is the largest LGBT event in the Middle East, takes place from June 3 in Israel.
Some 200,000 people are expected to parade through the streets for the event.
“Both in Israel and around the world, many bisexual people feel that they are an invisible group within the [queer] community,” said Efrat Tolkowsky, Tel Aviv-Yafo City Council Member in charge of LGBTQ Affairs.
“Here in Tel Aviv, we are committed to celebrating each and every LGBTQ person and ally equally, so that we can all be out and proud together.”
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Unlike much of the Middle East and Asia, Israel and Tel Aviv has become renowned for its LGBT-friendly culture.
The city has been dubbed “the world’s gayest city” by The Boston Globe and “the gay capital of the Middle East” by Out Magazine.
The most voted for woman in US history, Hillary Clinton, previously praised Tel Aviv Pride as a “bastion of liberty” in a keynote speech to a pro-Israel lobbying group.
She said: “We are both nations built by immigrants and exiles seeking to live and worship in freedom, nations built on principles of equality, tolerance and pluralism.
“At our best, both Israel and America are seen as a light unto the nations because of those values.
“This is the real foundation of our alliance, and I think it’s why so many Americans feel such a deep emotional connection with Israel. I know that I do.
“And it’s why we cannot be neutral about Israel and Israel’s future, because in Israel’s story, we see our own, and the story of all people who struggle for freedom and self-determination.
“There’s so many examples. You know, we look at the pride parade in Tel Aviv, one of the biggest and most prominent in the world.
“And we marvel that such a bastion of liberty exists in a region so plagued by intolerance. We see the vigorous, even raucous debate in Israeli politics and feel right at home.”