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A cloudless, sunny sky smiled down upon the hundreds of thousands of revelers who came out to celebrate the world's largest gay pride parade on Sunday (May 4) in Sao Paulo.
Around midday throngs of dancing and singing people, many in costume, began parading down Sao Paulo's main boulevard, Avenida Paulista.
Sao Paulo's colorful parade, which Guinness first named the world's biggest gay pride celebration in 2006, celebrated its 18th anniversary Sunday. The first Sao Paulo gay pride parade, in 1997, had only 2,000 participants.
The parade's principal theme this year was to advocate for the criminalization of crimes motivated by homophobia.
Organizers also called for the passing of a gender identity bill in Brazil, similar to that passed in Argentina, which allows people to legally change their gender without needing a surgery or prior approval from a judge.
Both local and federal governments now heavily support the Sao
