TEL AVIV LIGHTS UP IN RAINBOW COLOURS FOR GAY PRIDE

The Israeli city of Tel Aviv has gone all out to celebrate gay Pride this year, with the authorities lighting up city hall in rainbow colours.

More than 480 LED light bulbs were used to create a rainbow flag lighting effect on the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipal building, making it, according to The Jerusalem Post, the biggest rainbow flag in the world.

The lights will be lit from 8pm until 11pm every night this week until Friday, when the city’s 16th annual Pride Parade takes place. The parade is expected to attract around 120,000 participants and will conclude with a huge beach party.

Considered the most gay friendly city in the Middle East, Tel Aviv’s Pride celebrations also feature an LGBT Culture Festival and an International LGBT Film Festival.

The Mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, who will be launching the parade, said that the arrival of summer “is also the arrival of the Pride events that declare with voices, colours, music and culture a clear saying to our residents and our guests: The city of Tel Aviv-Yafo stands for equality, believes in equality and marches for equality.”

Tel Aviv’s LGBT community is the largest in Israel and consists of 15% of its residents. The city was recently named by CNN as one of its “10 gay honeymoon hotspots” in the world.