The forecourt and rear of the Colosseum theater were jam-packed with at least 7,000 celebrants of Pattaya Community Pride which aims to show that gay rights are concerns across the sexual spectrum. As the June 8 afternoon parade to Jomtien beach snaked slowly along to the melee of sounds of military marching music and songs from the Isaan region, the community theme was obvious. Bars from Treetown, a non-gay district in Soi Buakhao, and businesses such as Macro and Index were represented in colorful floats.
A light plane circled the parade area, trailing a streamer promoting sexual equality for all. There were marching delegations representing Cambodia, India and Myanmar. Pattaya gay rallies tend to be non-political, unlike those in Bangkok, but there were a few signs in English demanding that sex workers be recognized and defended under Thai law. Very few participating foreigners were on view during the parade, although a handful of them sort-of waved from the motorcade promoting their bar or even a street of bars. Gay Pride 2024 is sponsored by Central Pattana plc which runs the Central department malls throughout Thailand.
Police from several divisions were on hand, but mainly to direct traffic. Pattaya is not a place where you are likely to see open hostility to sexual minorities. The only opposition came from several car drivers stuck in the endless queue of non-parade traffic from Sukhumvit highway who had to wait patiently for up to an hour as the parade unfolded. “I don’t mind what they do but not on Saturday afternoons,” one driver muttered as he turned off the ignition.
