Pride 2024 Pattaya (2 parades)

[bkkmfj2648]

Dear all,

I see that Reader has kindly posted 2024 Pride information for Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

I wanted to post about what is happening in Pattaya - and it was difficult to gather the information as most of it is only in Thai  -> even though the Pattaya government wants tourists to participate but no information is posted in English - duh!!  But my wonderful Thai friend, Sun, was able to help me gather the appropriate information for an article in English.

Furthermore, I learned that Thailand is competing to host the 2030 World Pride event which would be truly amazing.

I participated in the year 2000 World Pride event in Rome and it was outstanding, as they say that around 1 million people participated, with the Vatican throwing every obstacle in our way to have this event cancelled, as it was in direct competition with their year 2000 sacred Jubilee event.

So, it seems that Pattaya will have 2 distinct Gay Pride events as follows:

8 June 2024 There will be a parade, "Pattaya Community Pride", that starts at 4pm from the Colosseum theatre on Thepprasit road and they will march all the way down to the Dongtan curve (where the Jomtien Beach road starts and the Dongtan beach road finishes - police box on one corner and 7-eleven on the other corner).  Then there will be festivities all night in the Jomtien Supertown Complex - with the center of activities being in front of The Venue Cabaret and Hotel.  I believe that this specific gay pride event is being sponsored by SWING and various Supertown bar owners.

 

The second Gay Pride parade "Pride for All" will take place on 22 June 2024 in front of the Central Festival mall on Beach Road in Pattaya city. It is supposed to start in the late afternoon from the Terminal 21 shopping mall and then loop down onto Beach Road - terminating at the Central Festival mall with a stated slotted time from 6pm until 8pm.

It is being sponsored by Central Pattana - the owner of the Central malls that are all over Thailand.

[bkkmfj2648]

A small review of the Pattaya Community Pride 2024 event which took place yesterday, 8 June 2024.

The parade route started from the famous Colosseum Show Pattaya building on Thepprasit road and wound its way onto Thappraya road until its termination point at our beloved gay Dongtan beach.

I believe that this marching route is approximately 2km and should take approximately 24 minutes under normal walking circumstances.

Fellow forum member, JD100 and I arrived around 5pm to the Dongtan beach police box and the parade was just starting to arrive at its destination.

This is where it started at the Colosseum:

This is where it ended at Dongtan beach.

Parade arriving into the Dongtan beach area.

 

 

Then for like 2 hours there were people up on the stage talking about a million things (90% in Thai).  Many important local gay people, drag queens, parade organizers, SWING presenters and staff, Pattaya mayor, etcetra.

--> I believe that the Pattaya mayor is the gentleman seated with the rainbow spiral t-shirt.

Then the speeches concluded and the fireworks started.

By this moment - around 7pm, JD100 and I were hungry so we went to get a bit to eat in the nearby SINT restaurant.

Unfortunately, I discovered today that once the presenters and politicians got off the stage they transformed the stage into a type of best drag/ladyboy competition and then with some cool bands and dancing ensued.

 

After dinner, we entered the Jomtien Supertown Complex at the Thappraya entrance (where the Poseidon is) and there was a stage at the entrance and it was heaving with people dancing.  Then we strolled through the complex towards The Venue and then at the turn left - there was another stage setup with music and people dancing.  We got past that to our final destination at the junction with Soda Massage where there was another stage of people dancing and having a ton of fun.  So, we plopped ourselves here to watch the fun and participate somewhat.

In summary, I was VERY impressed - as this was my FIRST Gay Pride event in Thailand since retiring here 18 months prior.  Everything was well organized, very entertaining, and too many things to do (which is good) - as you could not be everywhere in one moment - especially with the 4 entertainment stages that were setup - 3 inside the Supertown complex and 1 over at the Dongtan beach.

I believe that the Thai government has petitioned to host the 2030 World Pride - and I participated as a volunteer in the year 2000 World Pride event when I lived in Rome, Italy, and it is estimated that we had close to 1 million visitors for that event.  So, if Thailand can do the same for 2030 that will be amazing.  If I am still here in 2029/2030 I will definitely volunteer my time towards this event - especially in the area of putting things in English - as this Pattaya Community Pride 2024 event was starved of available information in English.

I will try to report on the NEXT 2nd Pattaya PRIDE festivities that are scheduled for 22 June 2024 under the label = "Pride for All".

If any of you have a clue about why:

• there is this fracture within the Pattaya gay community = 2 separate gay pride parades and festivals,
• Boyztown is absent in the celebration of these events.

Please let us all know.

A similar fracture occurred in Rome, Italy during the years 1999/2000 leading up to the year 2000 World Pride event, when the gay community split into 2 distinct factions:

• Circolo Mario Miele and the associated Muccassasina,
• Arcigay.

                                https://www.wikipink.org/index.php/World_Pride_Roma_2000

Many say that the Vatican had their fingers in this gay splinter because they were angry with the gay community to organize the FIRST World Pride ever during the same year as the Catholic Jubilee.

What happened in Pattaya ?

[reader]

From Pattaya News

Central  Pattaya shopping center is preparing to host the “Pattaya International Pride Festival 2024,” with this year’s edition promising to be the biggest.

The “Pride For All” themed festival will take place from June 21st to 23rd, 2024, at Central Pattaya. The highlight of the festival is the Pride Parade, which will be held on June 22nd at 4:00 PM.

The parade will snake its way along Pattaya Beach, featuring over 5,000 participants from more than 100 LGBTQ+ organizations, allies, and even celebrities. Registration for those interested in walking in the parade will be open from noon to 3:00 PM on the same day at Central Marina.

Following the parade, festivities will shift to the Central  PattayaBeach Stage for a night filled with live music and entertainment. Attendees can expect performances by popular Thai singers such as Prang Prangthip and Praeja Yanwannathan, alongside DJ sets and special shows.

 

[bkkmfj2648]

Yesterday, 22 June 2024 was the Pattaya International Pride Festival 2024, with the theme "Pride for All".

I have to say that I was VERY impressed and I apologize for my previous reporting, as I had implied that there may have been some "bad water" that caused Pattaya to have 2 distinct parade celebrations.

After having experienced both parades and seeing how and why they were presented, it was very obvious that one event is subordinate to the other - which I had misunderstood because the Jomtien / Dongtan pride event, Pattaya Community Event, went before the much bigger Pride for All event that was held today.  My bad, as I am still a newly retired person here and as a farang it is very difficult to understand everything.

I also had the naïve belief that for today's parade, that Boyztown, should be the lead event.  Instead, it was of minor importance, as Boyztown only had one single float out of perhaps 30 floats ?? that were in the parade, which consisted of the Castro Cabaret Show and Panorama - with their float labeled as:  Boyztown Pattaya.

Today's "Pride for All" event goes WAY beyond Boyztown, as it had MAJOR representation from almost all of the important Pattaya businesses, from the local hospitals, big name stores (Pattana and Central Festival), important social and political clubs, restaurants, government institutions, and what surprised me the most was the dedication of 2 floats sponsored by 2 of the most important bar complexes in soi Buakhao, LK Metro and Treetown - which are the primary heterosexual entertainment centers in Pattaya.

Compared to the 2 weeks prior Jomtien parade, this parade was massive.

Since the Thai government has solicited to host the 2030 World Gay Pride event in Thailand - and after seeing today's PRIDE event - I can see that Thailand will be an excellent host for this prestigious event.

The parade route was from the Central Marina shopping mall, past the Terminal 21 shopping mall (which was decked out with giant pride flag decorations), and then down Beach road terminating at the Central Festival shopping mall.

I joined the parade just as it was leaving the Central Marina mall area and I walked with it until about mid way on Beach road to finally be able to sit down and enjoy an iced capuccino frappe and to watch the rest of the parade pass.  One of my Thai friends joined me there and then after the parade terminated we went over to Central Festival to eat dinner and then to watch the night performances of many important drag queens, famous Thai TV stars, and other wonderful performers.

--> please note that the below photos were taken from the Central Pattaya facebook page, as they were of much higher quality than my more simple photos 

https://www.facebook.com/CentralPattayaBeach

Starting point within the Central Marina mall

Gay Pride flag along Beach road

More of the crowd on Beach road

Great to see the Thai Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin, alongside with the Pattaya Mayor, Poramet Ngampichet together at the parade.

ok, that is all for now - I may post some more pictures / videos tomorrow.

Edited June 22 by bkkmfj2648
fix punctuation

[Keithambrose]

4 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Yesterday, 22 June 2024 was the Pattaya International Pride Festival 2024, with the theme "Pride for All".

I have to say that I was VERY impressed and I apologize for my previous reporting, as I had implied that there may have been some "bad water" that caused Pattaya to have 2 distinct parade celebrations.

After having experienced both parades and seeing how and why they were presented, it was very obvious that one event is subordinate to the other - which I had misunderstood because the Jomtien / Dongtan pride event, Pattaya Community Event, went before the much bigger Pride for All event that was held today.  My bad, as I am still a newly retired person here and as a farang it is very difficult to understand everything.

I also had the naïve belief that for today's parade, that Boyztown, should be the lead event.  Instead, it was of minor importance, as Boyztown only had one single float out of perhaps 30 floats ?? that were in the parade, which consisted of the Castro Cabaret Show and Panorama - with their float labeled as:  Boyztown Pattaya.

Today's "Pride for All" event goes WAY beyond Boyztown, as it had MAJOR representation from almost all of the important Pattaya businesses, from the local hospitals, big name stores (Pattana and Central Festival), important social and political clubs, restaurants, government institutions, and what surprised me the most was the dedication of 2 floats sponsored by 2 of the most important bar complexes in soi Buakhao, LK Metro and Treetown - which are the primary heterosexual entertainment centers in Pattaya.

Compared to the 2 weeks prior Jomtien parade, this parade was massive.

Since the Thai government has solicited to host the 2030 World Gay Pride event in Thailand - and after seeing today's PRIDE event - I can see that Thailand will be an excellent host for this prestigious event.

The parade route was from the Central Marina shopping mall, past the Terminal 21 shopping mall (which was decked out with giant pride flag decorations), and then down Beach road terminating at the Central Festival shopping mall.

I joined the parade just as it was leaving the Central Marina mall area and I walked with it until about mid way on Beach road to finally be able to sit down and enjoy an iced capuccino frappe and to watch the rest of the parade pass.  One of my Thai friends joined me there and then after the parade terminated we went over to Central Festival to eat dinner and then to watch the night performances of many important drag queens, famous Thai TV stars, and other wonderful performers.

--> please note that the below photos were taken from the Central Pattaya facebook page, as they were of much higher quality than my more simple photos 

https://www.facebook.com/CentralPattayaBeach

Starting point within the Central Marina mall

Gay Pride flag along Beach road

More of the crowd on Beach road

Great to see the Thai Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin, alongside with the Pattaya Mayor, Poramet Ngampichet together at the parade.

ok, that is all for now - I may post some more pictures / videos tomorrow.

Indeed, I cant see General Prayut attending!