Live concert by Offer Nissim at HaYarkon Park under the sky 

DJ Offer Nissim performed at the Tel Aviv Pride Party in Israel on Saturday, June 15, the eve of the city's gay parade. The world's most famous DJ on the LGBT electronic scene has presented his hits over more than 15 years of career. The party attracted over 5,000 people at Hayarcon Park.

Tel Aviv Pride Parade held with 250,000 attendants celebrating  LGBTQ

Some 250.000 people turned up for Tel Aviv Pride on Friday afternoon, with the parade showcasing 14 floats with people celebrating their sexuality.

The parade marked the end of a month-long festival which included TLVFest – the city’s international gay film festival; a LGBTQ cultural line-up of events; a special show by the Israeli Opera honoring the Eurovision hits, which took place at NYX, the official Tel Aviv pride hotel; and tributes to key historical figures in the LGBTQ community.

Friday’s event started on Ben Tsiyon Street with the “Happening,” where drag queens and kings put on a performance. Local LGBTQ businesses set up booths to talk to locals and tourists alike about their lives in Tel Aviv, and emphasized the condition of the LGBTQ community not just in Tel Aviv but throughout Israel.

And this year, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and straight people marched through the streets of Tel Aviv to also advocate for the rights of those living in Israel without equal rights.

Tomer Versace, one of the drag queens performing, told The Jerusalem Post that the day represents “free love, freedom. You can be whoever you want to be without judgment and without hypocrisy. It’s all about acceptance.”

Participants marched from Gan Meir to Gordon Beach and then to Charles Clore Park. Police were stationed along the route to ensure safety and crowd control.

The parade was an opportunity for people to celebrate their identity, but the parade was also considered a celebration of Tel Aviv’s success.

“Tel Aviv Pride has become an important symbol of LGBTQ visibility and acceptance on the world stage,” Harris said in a statement. “We are excited to visit Israel for the first time, and honored to be a part of this beautiful celebration, to stand with the LGBTQ community both in Israel and across the globe, especially as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of [the] Stonewall [riots].”

Tel Aviv’s pride parade did not only attract LGBTQ locals. Ruby Callen, from Pennsylvania, is not Jewish but came all the way to Tel Aviv to celebrate. She said she is a strong supporter of Israel, and fell in love with the country when she came to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with her school.

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