​The rainbow flags are up and the parties have started!

This week, Tel Aviv is hosting one of the biggest gay pride events in the world, with over 180,000 people, including 30,000 tourists, expected to join the annual parade this Friday (3 June 2016). This is the energy, the sound and the colors of the gay capital of the Middle East: Tel Aviv!

The parade will start at 10am at Meir Park (home of the Tel Aviv Gay Community Center) with music, shows and speeches. The parade will kick off at 12pm with floats, music and hundreds of thousands of participants in the largest Pride Parade in the Middle East. The parade will march along Bugrashov Street, turning north on Yarkon Street, west on Frishman Street and eventually south along the city's famous beach promenade towards Charles Clore Park. The parade will include the following floats: The Beef, Shirazi, Lizi, Zoti, Tel Aviv Sauna and Besehla.
 
Following the parade, a huge beach party will be held at Charles Clore Park till sunset.
 
The spotlight of this year's Nonstop City's Pride Parade is "Women for a Change", highlighting the role of women in the LGBTQ community. The Tel Aviv Pride Parade opens the European pride season – the continent's first pride parade for 2016.