Rio’s Pride Parade Celebrates 30 Years of History as thousands of revelers descended on Copacabana’s boardwalk on Sunday for the city’s annual LGBTQ+ celebration.

Participants unfurled a massive rainbow flag along the beachfront, while sound trucks carried messages about this year’s theme — “30 years making history: from the first struggles for the right to exist to building sustainable futures” — underscoring both the movement’s past battles and its ongoing demands.

The parade unfolded one day after the preemptive jailing of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a figure long criticized for openly homophobic remarks.

Bolsonaro once described himself as a “proud homophobe” and said he would rather have a dead son than a gay son, comments that have made him a symbol of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in Brazil.

Despite progress since the country’s first Pride march, violence against LGBTQ+ Brazilians remains pervasive.

At least 291 LGBTQ+ people were victims of violent deaths in 2024, 34 more than in the previous year, according to the historic advocacy group Grupo Gay da Bahia.

AP video by Mario Lobao