Hot Fun in the Summertime: Gay Events Around the World

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June is arguably the most popular month for LGBT pride celebrations and many other parties as well. In many parts of the world, the weather is absolutely beautiful and people are ready to cut loose and have some fun. I've taken the time to outline some of the most important LGBT pride celebrations and notable parties from around the world, from June through to early September.

JUNE

Gay Pride Tel Aviv starts off the month with a bang, and for good reason -- it is the largest LGBT pride celebration in all of Asia. Over 50 events lead up to the most popular day (June 3 this year), which will feature a festival at Me'ir Park, followed by a parade and a beach party (gaytlvguide.com/the-guide/pride-parade). If you want to continue partying in circuit party heaven, all you need to do is take a flight to Ibiza, where this year's Ibiza Gay Pride (June 6-12) is expected to bring 40,000 tourists to the Balearic island. (That's a third of Ibiza's normal population!)

There are four important prides on the second weekend in June: Z�rich's Gay Pride Parade and Festival (zurichpridefestival.ch), which welcomes Alaska from RuPaul's Drag Race as this year's entertainment headliner; Rome's annual Roma Pride (romapride.it/2016), one of the largest LGBT pride celebrations in Mediterranean Europe; Athens Pride (athenspride.eu), which boasts a nighttime parade and an after-hours music festival in Klafthmonos Square; and Warsaw Pride (en.paradarownosci.eu), which has grown over the past two decades to become an event associated with the large-scale EuroPride. (By the way, if you're wondering who is hosting EuroPride this year, it is Amsterdam, with two weeks of celebrations from July 23-August 27, europride.com/en/amsterdam-2016.)

Many European cities hold their LGBT pride celebrations in late June. The Dublin LGBTQ Pride Festival (dublinpride.ie) is the largest such celebration in Ireland, and consists of a parade and celebrations in Merrion Square on June 25. Lisbon also puts together an elaborate Pride Village for people to enjoy on June 25, a week after the popular parade at Jardim do Principe Real (ilga-portugal.pt). Oslo Pride's epicenter for music and fun is the Pride Park in Spikersuppa, which is open for five straight days from June 22-26 (oslopride.no).

Finally, we couldn't ignore the Pride celebrations in two of Europe's largest cities: London and Paris. London Pride (prideinlondon.org) has been celebrated since the early 1970s and this year's parade will take place on June 25, making its way through such famed neighborhoods as Oxford Circus, Soho, Piccadilly Circus, Charing Cross, and Whitehall. Afterwards, a top-rate pop concert in Trafalgar Square will welcome over 750,000 partiers. Paris's Marais District will be packed with revelers the same weekend, as the Marche des Fiert�s LGBT (marchedesfiertes.fr) gets underway. Over 650,000 spectators will be following the march as it makes it way to the Place de la Bastille.

If you're looking for an international pride a little closer to home, over a million people take part in Mexico City's Gay Pride and Bear Pride, which both happen during the same week (June 23-28 in 2016). The pride parade will take participants and floats down the Paseo de la Reforma, ending with a big carnival in the Zocalo.

JULY

Look north to Canada: Pride Toronto (pridetoronto.com) inagurated Canada's first-ever month-long pride celebration. Why did I include it in July? Traditionally the big events are held in the Church & Wellesley neighborhood on the first weekend in July, to coincide with Canada Day. This year's events culminate in a parade (July 3), festival and music concert. Headliners this year include Bianca Del Rio, Rufus Wainwright, George Takei, and others. The largest Pride celebration in western Canada is Vancouver Pride, which brings out over 650,000 people each year for the parade and festival. This year's parade begins on July 31 and will take marchers on a route from Alberni and Thurlow Streets to the festival site at Sunset Beach. (vancouverpride.ca)

Now look east to Spain: Madrid Gay Pride (madridorgullo.com) and Pride Barcelona (pridebarcelona.com/en) are two of the most popular LGBT events in the country, and the parades, festivals and music concerts are held on back-to-back weekends. If you want to experience Spanish LGBT culture at its most vibrant, plan on attending Madrid Gay Pride from June 29-July 3, and Pride Barcelona from June 26-July 9, with the parades being held on July 2 (Madrid) and July 9 (Barcelona). In Barcelona, their parade will be held after an LGBT-inclusive holi celebration, complete with a "color fight."

Germany holds three of its biggest pride celebrations in the month of July. The biggest is Christopher Street Day in Berlin (July 23, csd-berlin.de), with similarly-named celebrations in large cities such as Munich (July 9-10, csd-munich.de) and Frankfurt (July 15-17, csd-frankfurt.de). Over a million people attend at least one of the three top German LGBT pride celebrations. Berlin's pride parade takes revelers down Kurf�rstendamm to the symbolic Brandenburg Gate, with a festival spanning multiple city blocks on Stra�e des 17. Juni.

One of the most flamboyant and elaborate Pride celebrations in the world is held each year in Sweden: this year's Stockholm Pride (July 25-31, stockholmpride.org/en) looks like it will be flawlessly executed, with a dedicated "Pride Park" and "Pride House" organized and presented to revelers just for this occasion. Ticketholders will be able to visit the park and pride house all week long for one flat rate; visit the Stockholm Pride site for more information.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

Two of the largest gay meccas in the United Kingdom are located in Brighton, on the southern coast, and in Manchester, in the north of England. Brighton & Hove Gay Pride (brighton-pride.org) and Manchester Pride (bigweekend.manchesterpride.com) are both held in the month of August, with Brighton's pride parade and festival being held on August 6, and Manchester's following three weeks later on August 27. Manchester Pride is particularly a star-studded affair, featuring appearances from well-known singers and actors, such as the cast of the soap opera Coronation Street. During Brighton's gay pride, there is also an arts and film festival, with over two dozen performances screened in the run-up to the parade and festival.

Before I get back into the Pride lineup, let me tell you about how well XLSIOR, the former Fire Island event, was received in Mykonos last year. Locals were impressed and so were tourists, so the event is back on this year for August 17-21. Your favorite DJs will be spinning at seven different parties, including the XLSIOR main party on August 20.

Quite a few major European LGBT pride celebrations dot the month of August. First there is Iceland Gay Pride in Reykjavik, which brings in over 200,000 tourists, or nearly half of Iceland's population! Gays from the continent and from the U.S. are most commonly seen during the week-long festivities (August 2-7). If you haven't gotten enough of the tried-and-true Nordic hospitality, fly to Copenhagen and attend Copenhagen Gay Pride (August 16-20, copenhagenpride.dk). The city hall square in downtown is transformed into "Pride Square" for those five days, and concerts and shows featuring internationally-known entertainers are presented to the public for free. Also consider the up-and-coming LGBT pride celebrations in one of Europe's most-visited cities, Prague. The Prague Gay Pride Parade and Festival (August 13-14, praguepride.com) is new but it has become one of the fastest-growing prides in all of Europe. With such beautiful scenery abounding, who wouldn't want to come here?

Finally, three big LGBT pride celebrations finish up summertime in the Great White North. The first of the three is Fiert� Montreal Pride, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year from August 8-14 (fiertemontrealpride.com). Events are held in Montreal's Gay Village and the Parc Emilie-Gamelin, and include film screenings and an LGBT rights conference in addition to the expected entertainment, parade and festival. Ottawa Capital Gay Pride (ottawacapitalpride.ca) starts one day after Montreal's celebrations end, and are also spaced out across a week. Ottawa's Pride includes a rainbow flag-raising, a human rights vigil, a fashion show and a dance party (The Rainbow Party). Finally, Quebec City hosts their Pride, F�te Arc-en-Ciel de Qu�bec, over Labor Day Weekend (arcencielquebec.ca). Rue Saint-Jean is closed off for two days of entertainment, parties, and other festivities.