Rainbow Parade engulfs Vienna
Leather, heels, sequins and almost bare bodies; Europe's annual celebration of its LGBT community drew a record crowd in the Austrian capital this year.
Half a million strong
It was the Austrian capital's turn to host Europe's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) community on Saturday as EuroPride 2019, the continent's largest Gay festival and parade, reached its climax. An estimated 500,000 people turned out for the 2-kilometer (1.2 mile) procession and party, which is held in a different European city each year.
Top billing goes to Wurst
Europe's most famous drag queen, Conchita Wurst, was the top musical act at Saturday's parade. The Austrian Eurovision winner appeared with her own procession truck, emblazened with posters for her upcoming album Truth Over Magnitude.
AIDS epidemic remembered
The Rainbow Parade started at Vienna's Burgtheater before passing through many of the city's landmarks, including Austria's Parliament building and the Vienna State Opera house. At one point, the parade came to a standstill for a moment of remembrance for those who died of HIV-AIDS or were victims of homophobic attacks.
Parade closes streets, stops shoppers
Temperatures of 36 degree Celcius didn't detract from the festivities as more than a 100 LGBT groups from across Austria showed their pride. Bikers, drummers, bagpipe players, angels, brides and couples made themselves as visible as possible among the rainbow colors.
LGBT rights underscored
What always seems like a huge party is actually a parade with a serious theme: a demand for equal rights for the LGBT community, including same-sex marriage. Austria was one of the last western European countries to adopt the measure when it passed a marriage equality law in January this year.
Next year: Greece
EuroPride Vienna drew 60% more participants than last year's parades in Stockholm and Gothenburg, organizers said, piling on the pressure for next year's event in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. While the Rainbow Parade dominated Austria's capital on Saturday, a "March for the family" counterprotest by about 200 people campaigned for the return to traditional marriages between a man and a woman.