Hundreds took to the streets of Hamilton today to celebrate freedom, community and the fight for LGBTQ+ acceptance.

The 2026 Bermuda Pride Parade started with a midafternoon gathering at Victoria Park, where attendees were treated to music and refreshments.

The event only grew as people took to the streets and marched throughout the city, before returning for live music and performances.

Roy Lim, 29, said this was his first ever Pride event — something he thought was “crazy” since his native Philippines was renowned for its pride events.

He added: “So far I’m finding this really fun and really enjoyable.

“It’s all about connections, meeting new people and expressing your true self — that’s what’s most important.”

Mr Lim, who moved to Bermuda about a year ago, said he appreciated Pride events for the love and kindness they spread.

He added that, as a gay man who lived in the Philippines, Jamaica and now Bermuda, he felt grateful having grown up in an environment where being gay was seen as normal.

Mr Lim explained: “Growing up, I didn’t even come out because in the Philippines, it’s common.

“Whether you’re straight or gay, it’s the same so you don’t need to come out.”

He added: “I’m liking it here in Bermuda. I lived in Jamaica for three years and I was afraid to be true to myself.

“Here in Bermuda, I’m open. I feel at home.”

Meanwhile, Zakira Francis said this was her second Bermuda Pride Parade, which she described as a “beautiful” event.

The 23-year-old said: “I like that this lets people be able to express themselves and feel comfortable in their own skin.”

Ms Francis, who runs the ice cream parlour Yo Cherry, said Pride was about unapologetically being yourself.

She told others: “Be yourself, be who you are and be true to yourself. You’re imperfectly beautiful.”

The parade led hundreds through the city for about an hour, with bystanders showing their support and offering refreshments.

It capped off with a show in the park headlined by Jaida Essence Hall, a drag queen known for winning the twelfth season of the competitive drag performance TV series RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Prior to the parade, OutBermuda led several events throughout June, including a blue-themed dance party yesterday.

Meshellae Payne, 32, said she had come to Bermuda Pride every year since 2021.

She said: “It’s always a good time. There’s always so much love, so much happiness, so much joy and so many beautiful costumes.

“It’s everything I love all wrapped up into one.”

Kendaree Burgess, the managing director of the Bermuda Business Development Agency, welcomed the parade and LGBTQ+ acceptance as a whole.

She said: “When people are in love, they’re happy, they’re peaceful and the world’s a better place.

“Pride represents a step to a better world, a more peaceful world and a more happy world.”

Nicholas Thompson, 27, admitted that Pride was “a difficult time”.

He explained: “It’s sort of a commemoration of everything that we’ve struggled for, but at the same time it’s so joyous because we actually get to celebrate each other.”

Mr Thompson, an auditor, said this was the first Pride event he’d ever attended.

The South African native explained his home town did not have a Pride scene.

Since attending, however, Mr Thompson said he’d had a lot of fun.

“It’s all about community,” he said. “Everyone here is here for love.

“It took me a very long time to become comfortable with who I am.

“This is something that maybe ten years ago I wouldn’t have even thought to go to.

“I think the beauty of it is that everyone is so free and it makes you feel free.”

Mr Thompson encouraged any closeted Bermudian to come out to someone they trusted.

He added: “You’re going to be coming out for the rest of your life whether you like it or not, whether you say it or whether you show it.

“I understand that it’s difficult to be unapologetically yourself, I understand it’s uncomfortable, but I’ve always said to people there’s always worse things to be in this world than gay, and you should be comfortable and willing to live your authentic life, because that’s what we all deserve.”

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