Huge and happy crowds turn out for 39th Vancouver Pride Parade

Downtown Vancouver was transformed into a sea of sound and colour Sunday afternoon, as the city played host to its 39th annual Pride Parade.

Organizers estimated between 500,000 and 650,000 people packed the downtown core for the parade, Sunset Beach festival and associated events.

LISTEN: Kieran Burgess, Co-Executive Director of the Vancouver Pride Society gives a preview of the parade

“Obviously it’s always hard to measure those numbers accurately, but that’s what we anticipate with police and our planning,” Kieran Burgess, co-executive director of the Vancouver Pride Society told CKNW’s The Jill Bennett Show.

The parade kicked off at noon at Robson and Thurlow Streets, winding its way down to Denman Street and Beach Avenue and finishing at the Sunset Beach festival site.

It featured approximately 150 floats from community groups and businesses.

Global BC’s Chris Gailus and Sophie Lui were in the heart of the action, joining their Corus colleagues on a parade float.

The event brings together members of the LGBTQ community, along with friends and supporters to celebrate equality and inclusivity.

LISTEN: A brief history of the Vancouver Pride Parade

Burgess said there were a few small changes this year, including moving an accessibility zone to the main festival site, with increased capacity for people with disabilities and mobility issues.

The beer garden was also been expanded.

The parade caps a week of events, including the Trans and Dyke marches, East Side Pride, Davie Street Party, speaking events, cruises and parties.

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Police participation

And there was one major change this year: an agreement to scale back the uniformed presence of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD).

“We’ve decided to proceed with police in the parade, but there will be no marked police vehicles, there will be no sirens used, the police will be marching primarily in T-shirts, with the exception of some visible officers that wear their uniform such as the chief,” Burgess said.

He said the decision was made after concerns were raised by groups including Black Lives Matters about the presence of uniformed police officers in the parade, and their effect on the feelings of safety of vulnerable and marginalized groups.

Black Lives Matter Vancouver asked the VPD last year to withdraw voluntarily from the event.

“We also heard a lot of feedback from elders in the community who really have worked hard to have the police there, so we’re trying to be respectful of both sides of what is a very polarizing issue,” Burgess said.

The scaled-back model was arrived at after extensive consultation with the community, he said.

Both Black Lives Matters and Rainbow Refugees — a group that supports LGBTQ people fleeing persecution — have said they will not participate in the parade as a result.