Europe

Cologne's gay pride parade pays tribute to Orlando victims

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Participants gather for a Christopher Street Day parade in Cologne, western Germany, Sunday July 3, 2016. ( Maja Hitij/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

Participants gather for a Christopher Street Day parade in Cologne, western Germany, Sunday July 3, 2016 and hold a poster in different languages reading 'I am Orlando', to remember the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. ( Maja Hitij/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

Participants gather for a Christopher Street Day parade in Cologne, western Germany, Sunday July 3, 2016. ( Maja Hitij/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

Tens of thousands of people are taking part in Cologne's annual gay pride parade, with many paying tribute to the victims of the attack on a Florida nightclub last month.

Some held placards with the words "We are Orlando" while 49 rainbow flags were hung at half-mast to symbolize those killed in the attack.

Sunday's Christopher Street Day parade is one of the biggest LGBT events in Germany and was first held 25 years ago to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York.