Update: The event at Yoyogi Park on Friday April 19 has been cancelled due to strong winds.
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Launched in 2012, Tokyo Rainbow Pride has grown into the largest and most diverse Pride celebration in Japan, always offering a fantastic opportunity to be a part of the country’s journey towards a more equal future. The 2024 edition is themed ‘Not giving up till change happens’ and will be jam-packed with educational seminars, late-night parties, social gatherings and, of course, the ever-growing Rainbow Pride Parade and Festival, bringing together people from all walks of life.
This year’s Pride Festival will be held in Yoyogi Park over the weekend of April 19 to 21, with the parade set to take over Shibuya and Harajuku on April 21 from 1pm, starting and ending at the Yoyogi 2nd National Gymnasium. Registration for the parade will be open on the day at the same venue (look for the registration booth). We expect this year’s procession to be the biggest and most jubilant yet, as 2024 marks 30 years since Japan’s inaugural Pride parade was organised by a few hundred brave pioneers.
The programme of talks and seminars on Yoyogi Park’s Pride Stage will kick off at 3pm on Friday April 19 with a panel discussion featuring pioneers of the Pride movement in Japan, including 92-year-old gay activist Teishiro Minami, who was the driving force behind that first Pride parade back in 1994. This unique historical recap will be followed by a discussion on marriage equality organised in collaboration with the Marriage For All Japan activist nonprofit.
As for the weekend’s entertainment, you can expect appearances by pop singer Kiyotaka Tendo aka Ki-Yo, TikTok phenom Zeropuri, rapper and singer-songwriter Chanmina, veteran entertainers Maki Ohguro and Michiko Shimizu, and many more. If you’re attending together with children, make sure to check out the Rainbow Stage at Yoyogi Park’s Keyaki Namiki promenade, where a kid-friendly programme of workshops and shows will take place on Saturday and Sunday. A dedicated kids’ space will be set up next to the stage.
The festival will feature an appropriately diverse array of food and drink stalls along with booths set up by the many corporations, organisations and community groups sponsoring the event. You’ll also find special Japan Pride 30th and Japan Pride Network booths that should make interesting viewing for anyone curious about the history and present of the nation’s Pride movement.