Philadelphia gay flag

Record-breaking flag kicks off Pride festivities in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art became the backdrop of the big rollout of Pride Month festivities in the city. Dozens of people walked down the steps holding a Pride flag that measured hundreds of feet long.

"It celebrates inclusivity. It celebrates obviously the launch of Self-acceptance Month," said Sasha Suda, Director and CEO of Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Cascading down the Art Museum steps, the flag is America's largest Progress Self-acceptance Rainbow Flag.

"Each year for three years we add on 200 feet. Which means this year we have a total of 600 feet which amounts to a block and a half," said Philly Identity festival 365 Executive Producer Jeremy Williams.

Philly Celebration 365 is spearheading this year's lgbtq+ fest celebrations with assist from several groups. One of their goals was to spread the communication of love and acceptance by taking the flag to more neighborhoods across the city including Manayunk where the flag flowed down Main Street.

"We wanted to do Event around the metropolis, because it's not just about entity around the Gayborhood," said Williams.

At Capital H

A Guide to the 2025 Philadelphia Pride Protest and Festival

2025 Highlights

On the heels of a historic anniversary in Pennsylvania Queer history  — 50 years since Governor Milton Shapp signed the executive arrange protecting LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians from discrimination — the Philly Pride March & Festival kicks off its Lgbtq+ fest Month festivities with protest, open and inclusive celebration, and a ton of “Philly L.U.V.”

  — Photo by S. Ramones for Call on Philadelphia

Pride March

An ode to the 1960s Annual Reminders, the Philly Pride Parade calls the LGBTQ+ people and its allies to take to the streets in the spirit of LGBTQ+ visibility and solidarity.

Kicking off at 10:30 a.m. near 6th & Walnut streets, this community rally begins with speeches, melody and a land acknowledgement from the Lenape Tribe, before winding from Antique City to the Movement Festival-grounds.

The vehicle-free procession features hundreds of LGBTQ+ group members, groups, leaders and allies marching side-by-side, with Philly Pride’s ever-expanding rainbow flag — now the largest in Philly history at an impressive 600 feet — making appearances along the way.

Participation in

The largest Progress Pride flag in the U.S. will return and be even larger in 2025 as Philadelphia's LGBTQ+ community and allies gather for the Philadelphia Pride March and Festival.

Organizers with Philly Lgbtq+ fest 365 have already announced a ton of plans for the kickoff weekend starting Friday, May 30, but more announcements are coming in the next one to two weeks, including performers, stage locations and food truck and vendor lists.

The group says this year's Pride Month is extra special in Philadelphia — it marks 50 years since former Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp signed an executive request making the Keystone Articulate the first to prohibit discrimination toward LGBTQ+ declare employees. The order was later expanded to add state contractors as well.

Advocates have called for the Pennsylvania Senate to hand over the Fairness Act, a bill that ensures identical protections for LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians.

When is the 2025 Philadelphia Pride March?

Pride Weekend in Philadelphia features several events leading up to the June 1 Pride Protest, not a parade.

Things boot off with the Event Around the City event on Friday, May 30. During this event, the massive Progress Pride flag will make

LGBTQ+ Pride Flags

In the Gay community, we signify our pride with flags. With many different identities in the community, there comes many alternative flags to perceive . We have composed all of the flags and a guide to absorb about all of the different colors of our community’s rainbow. We comprehend that this may not be all of the flags that represent our community, but we will update the page as fresh flags become popular!

Explore the flag collection below! See a flag's name by hovering or clicking on the flag.

Umbrella Flags

  • Gilbert Baker Pride Flag

  • Traditional Pride Flag

  • Philadelphia Lgbtq+ fest Flag

  • Progress Pride Flag

  • Intersex-Inclusive Progress Self-acceptance Flag

  • Gay Pride Flag

The original Pride Flag was created in 1978 after activist Harvey Milk asked artist Gilbert Baker to design a symbol of homosexual pride. Each paint represents a other part of the LGBTQ+ community: boiling pink represents sex, red symbolizes existence, orange stands for healing, yellow equals sunlight, green stands for nature, turquoise symbolizes magic and art, indigo represents serenity, while violet symbolizes the energy of LGBTQ+ people.

After the assass
philadelphia gay flag

What do the colors of the Progress Pride and Philadelphia Pride flags represent?

Can you imagine a Event Month without rainbows?

It wasn't until 1978 that Gilbert Baker created the unique Pride flag. Gilbert’s striped flag was inspired by past rebellions, including the American and French Revolution. "I thought a gay nation should include a flag too, to proclaim its own thought of power," he said, according to the Gilbert Baker Foundation.

Today, the rainbow flag is a symbol of joy, pride and the persistence of the LGBTQ community in the face of discrimination and anti-LGBTQ legislation. Over the years, updates are an homage to the past and a gesture toward the future. 

Here are two redesigned flags that add nuance and honor marginalized groups in the LGBTQ+ community.

What accomplish the colors of the Progress Pride flag mean?

The Progress Pride flag is a reimagined take on the traditional pride flag, which has six colored stripes in the order of the rainbow. The progress pride flag includes shadowy , brown, blue, pink and white in a chevron design on top of the rainbow colors. 

The six rainbow colors altogether symbolize hope, but have individual meanings:

  • Red: Life
  • Orange: Healing