A selection of images from this years Pride march in Barcelona. The route this year was longer than in the past, running from Plaça España down the Parallel and then on to Moll de la Fusta in Port Vell where the concert stages and stalls were setup. The weather was cripplingly hot – but fortunately there were numerous people spraying water over themselves and everyone else in the crowd.

The theme this year was “transexual rights are human rights”, but unsurprisingly there was an immense amount of diversity in the march – from associations for the families of LGBTI people, global and local politics, and of course floats sponsored by local businesses.

Barcelona pride is very much of Catalunya, and a lot of the decor mixes the rainbow and Catalan independence flags. Barcelona is astonishingly progressive by most western standards, something which is all the more amazing given the mediterranean location and long Catholic history. Perhaps this and the seeming absence of any Spanish flags on the march are not totally disconnected.