People in at least 65 countries and territories came together to mark this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT).
230+
events registered
65+
countries and territories
Marked since 2005, the day commemorates the World Health Organization’s decision, on 17 May 1990, to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. This year, communities, allies, and institutions organised activities under the theme, “at the heart of democracy”.
IDAHOBIT is a shared global moment that communities shape in their own contexts, in ways that reflect local realities, languages, and contexts. The theme connected the rights of LGBTQIA+ people to the health of democratic life, and it carried far beyond LGBTQIA+ and feminist movements, reaching pro-democracy institutions, human rights bodies, faith communities, sports clubs, and workplaces.
A theme that travelled
The visual created for IDAHOBIT 2026 was available in 55 languages and spread widely across the internet. Organisers, institutions, and individuals reused it in their own social media posts and designs, and @may17org accounts received more tags and requests for collaboration than in previous years.
The theme itself travelled as much as the visual. Across media coverage and institutional channels, the day was framed as a question of democracy: UN agencies, governments, and news outlets alike linked equality for LGBTQIA+ people to democratic participation, dignity, and the right to be in public without fear. That framing reached communities far beyond LGBTQIA+ movements.
This year’s theme carried additional weight at a time when the wider picture is disheartening. Much of the coverage around 17 May also documented rising hostility and contested recognition, from a reported increase in recorded anti-LGBTQIA+ offences in France to protests against a public school in Australia that had invited students to wear rainbow accessories for IDAHOBIT.
Events around the world
More than 230 events were registered on the IDAHOBIT website in at least 65 countries and territories[1] spanning every region of the world. The range was as wide as the activities themselves: street booths in Hong Kong, community celebrations in Botswana, marches against LGBTfobia in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico, and Lima, Peru, sports festivals in Apia, Samoa, gatherings in Suva, Fiji. The city of Paris, France, threw a “Bal de l’amour” (Ball of Love), and Mozambique ran awareness activities across six cities at once, from Maputo to Nampula. Activities reached Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Siem Reap, Antananarivo, and Quezon City.
Art carried much of the day. Cuba held an artistic gala, Jamaica ran an essay competition and film nights, and Mongolia opened a photography exhibition in Ulaanbaatar titled “At the heart of democracy”. In Los Angeles, community members unveiled the Rainbow Steps, an installation by Lynn Segerblom, co-creator of the original 1978 rainbow flag.
Governments, diplomatic missions, and city councils took part alongside grassroots organisers. Institutional and community participation sat side by side, which is the core of the theme: democratic participation as everyday, collective work that belongs to everyone.
[1] Countries and territories with registered events: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, England, Estonia, Eswatini, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Madagascar, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Scotland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The United Kingdom is counted here as its constituent nations (England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), in line with how events were registered.
Symbols of solidarity
On 17 May 2026, rainbows covered the globe. Embassies, EU delegations, foreign ministries, local councils, and community groups across many countries raised Pride and Progress Pride flags from the Baltic states and Eastern Europe to Australia and Latin America.
Landmarks around the world glowed in rainbow colours: the European Parliament buildings in Brussels, Belgium, and Strasbourg, France; the Lanyon Building at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland; Parliament House in Adelaide, Australia; the Ángel de la Independencia in Mexico City, Mexico; the Arena Castelão stadium in Fortaleza, Brazil; and the Lufthansa Group’s Hangar One at Frankfurt Airport, Germany. Sports clubs, workplaces, and cultural institutions took part across continents, with gestures turning a single date into a worldwide display of solidarity, belonging, and unity.[2]
[2] These are a few of the many events that we recorded attesting to the creativity and courage of those involved in marking IDAHOBIT around the world: it would be impossible to mention them all. As a matter of fairness, we chose not to mention any individual organisation. Our social media channels @may17org provide more detailed coverage of events and organisers.
Paços do Concelho, Municipio de Famalicão, Portugal
Flags in front of Europa building, Brussels, Belgium
Lufthansa Group Hangar One, Frankfurt, Germany
Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Cartagena, Spain
Ville de Paris, France
Chalking on an NYC sidewalk
Closing of event in Bangkok, Thailand
Escalinatas at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico
Encontro da Associação Inclusão em Manhiça, Moçambique
Flag waving in Geneva, Switzerland
President of the European Council
Paços do Concelho, Municipio de Famalicão, Portugal
Flags in front of Europa building, Brussels, Belgium
Lufthansa Group Hangar One, Frankfurt, Germany
Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Cartagena, Spain
Ville de Paris, France
Chalking on an NYC sidewalk
Closing of event in Bangkok, Thailand
Escalinatas at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico
Encontro da Associação Inclusão em Manhiça, Moçambique
Flag waving in Geneva, Switzerland
President of the European Council
Paços do Concelho, Municipio de Famalicão, Portugal
Flags in front of Europa building, Brussels, Belgium
Lufthansa Group Hangar One, Frankfurt, Germany
Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Cartagena, Spain
Ville de Paris, France
Chalking on an NYC sidewalk
Closing of event in Bangkok, Thailand
Escalinatas at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico
Encontro da Associação Inclusão em Manhiça, Moçambique
Flag waving in Geneva, Switzerland
President of the European Council
Statements of support
Institutions across the United Nations system, regional human rights bodies, governments, and civil society issued statements following the theme.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres affirmed a simple truth:
“Being who you are should never be a crime. [...] This year's theme, ‘At the Heart of Democracy’, is a powerful reminder that each and every person must be able to live free from fear, and participate equally in society.”
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, set the day in the long history of people demanding equality, and closed with a call that reflected the spirit of IDAHOBIT:
“Today and every day, let us stand together and cherish the freedom to live and love freely.”
Regional bodies tied the day directly to democratic life. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reaffirmed that, “respecting and protecting the rights of LGBTI people are essential actions in democratic societies founded on freedom, security, and equality before the law.” In South Africa, Deputy Minister in the Presidency Steve Letsike spoke at an IDAHOBIT event in Johannesburg and rejected the idea that LGBTQIA+ lives are foreign to the continent:
“There is nothing un-African about dignity, nothing foreign about love, and nothing unnatural about people living as their full selves.”
In Taiwan, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim reflected on two decades of progress towards equality and offered a wish that travelled widely online:
“Let every kind of love bloom safely on this island.”
Statements also came from UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA Asia and the Pacific, the Council of Europe, the Council of the European Union, and the Equal Rights Coalition, and from governments including Brazil, Canada, France, Bermuda, and Mexico. The European Commission marked the period by committing to recommend that member states ban conversion practices.
These are only a few of the many institutions that marked the day publicly; statements came from every continent.
Moving forward
No matter where we live, who we are, or the faiths that drive us, most people want to nurture neighbourhoods and communities where every life can bloom. But today, reactionary governments worldwide are poisoning our gardens with the invasive weeds of their authoritarian policies and exclusionary legislations.
Time and again, LGBTQIA+ people have resisted, rolled up their sleeves together with all the good people caring about their communities, and sowed the seeds of change.
This year, millions of people joined in to celebrate IDAHOBIT, at the heart of democracy, preparing the ground for a better future for everyone.
Now, our work continues, propelled by the continued energy of communities, organisers, and allies around the world. Together, we can keep preparing the ground for a present and future when everyone can live and love freely.
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