Pride Bottoms

Its an unfortunate fact the plate tectonics hasn’t left as much habitable land for humans south of the equator than it has north of it. Consequently, the southernmost Prides (that are not part of Polar Pride) actually take place nearer to the equator than the cities of Copenhagen (55° 40' N), Moscow (55° 45' N), and Edinburgh (55° 57' N).

As I’ve said in the last two days, Polar Pride has been difficult to include because of its non-public nature. I’m tempted to include Polar Pride as a multi-location regional Pride. It can easily be regarded as a regional Pride but it needs to be more accessible to the general public. Hopefully, my quandary will have been resolved in time for my article to celebrate the next Polar Pride on 18th November.

With reference to the illustration given a couple of days ago regarding the tilt of the Earth. When its winter in the north, its summer in the south, and dates of Prides in the southern hemisphere reflects this. This might be blindingly obvious to you, but believe it or not there are still people who don’t understand this.

So, here are the top 5 southernmost Prides as of June 2026 in reverse order. Their locations are shown on the map.

5) MARCHA DEL ORGULLO, RIO GALLEGOS, Argentina – 51° 37' S

Orgullo (Spanish for “Pride”) is the term used throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Rio Gallegos is the capital city of Santa Cruz, Argentina’s southernmost continental province (see also numbers 3 and 1), and is the furthest south of any Pride on the whole American continental landmass.

The first Pride in Rio Gallegos was the Marcha de Orgullo (Pride March) held in November 2017. There had been many Prides in Argentina before this, since at least 1992, and Rio Gallegos was one of a few cities across Argentina that were forming their first Pride events in 2017, joining others in protesting against the growing number of transgender murders and increasing homophobic attacks.

All of Argentina’s provinces now have provincial Prides with marches and events held throughout each province. Rio Gallegos is the central location for Orgullo Santa Cruz. They are held throughout November and often have another smaller march in June.

4) FALKLANDS PRIDE, STANLEY, Falkland Islands – 51° 41' S

The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory, meaning its 3,662 inhabitants (according to the 2021 census) are British citizens.

The first official Pride in the Falklands was on 23rd June 2013 in Stanley, the capital town. There was an unofficial Pride in 2012 organised by local radio DJ Scott Betts at the last minute. Luckily, he had plenty of time to organise the next one with the help of the Falkland Islands government and local community.

This year’s Falklands Pride took place on 10th June and included its first US Pride Month reception at Government House, but there was no Pride march this year.

3) MARCHA DEL ORGULLO, RIO GRANDE, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina – 53° 47' S

Rio Grande is a city on the island of Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost of Argentina’s provinces. Its Marcha del Orgullo is organised as part of the provincial Pride celebrations by Orgullo TDF (Tierra del Fuego Pride). See also number 1 on this list.

2) SOUTH GEORGIA PRIDE, KING EDWARD POINT, South Georgia Island – 54° 17' 

South Georgia, like the Falklands, is a British Overseas Territory. Its Pride march is undoubtedly the smallest.

The southern summer population on South Georgia (December to March) rarely rises above 30. That’s because it has no permanent population, consisting of scientists, naturalists, naval and military personnel and the occasional civil servant. However, as an Overseas Territory, it has its own form of government headed by a Commissioner with international diplomatic status (and his/her own flag). The Commissioner is always also the Governor of the Falkland Islands.

Also, South Georgia has roads. So what, I hear you say. Well, try having a Pride march without one. Even though it can’t claim to have the shortest Pride march (that record is still officially held by Paekākāriki Pride, New Zealand), it can easily claim the record as having the fewest participants. At the island’s first Pride In December 2019 there were only 20 marchers. Being a remote island with a small population, there is the high possibility that South Georgia could have a Pride without any lgbt people attending.

South Georgia is one of the remotest islands on Earth, and holds the record for the remotest Pride from other land. The nearest land, and the nearest Pride, is in the Falklands about 1,400 km (870 miles) away.

1) MARCHA DE ORGULLO, USHUAIA, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina – 54° 48' S

And the prize for hosting the southernmost Pride on Earth goes to the southernmost city on the planet, and the capital city of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia. The city has earned the popular name of “The End of the World”, a name used a lot in the publicity for its Pride march and events every November.

Just like the Marcha del Ogullo in Rio Grande (number 3 above), Ushuaia’s Pride is the central location of the provincial Pride and also organised by the Orgullo TDF.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Here are some more Prides which didn’t quite make the lists but are still notable and have some special significance.

SOUTHLAND/MURIHIKU PRIDE, INVERCARGILL, New Zealand – 46° 24' 

The southernmost Pride outside Argentina and the South Atlantic takes place on South Island, New Zealand, in its most southern city, Invercargill. It has two official names, one in English and the other in Maori, which both mean the same thing. The next Southland/Murihiku Pride will be held throughout March 2027.

MARCHA DEL ORGULLO, EL CALAFATE, Argentina – 50° 20'  S

If you don’t agree with my inclusion of South Georgia Pride (and I won’t object if you do) then number 5 on the southernmost list would go to the city of El Calafate in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. Its Pride celebrations are part of the provincial Orgullo Santa Cruz.

McMURDO STATION, ROSS DEPENDENCY, Antarctica – 77° 50' S.

Until the creation of Polar Pride in 2020 the furthest south that a Pride was held was on this US scientific base in June 2018. Because it was not publicly advertised and restricted to the base’s employees (its inhospitable, remote location not helping) I didn’t include it in the southernmost list above. It has since become part of Polar Pride and when I’ve amended my criteria points to make all Prides in the polar regions eligible it will definitely count as one of the southernmost Prides.

ARCTIC PRIDE, ROVANIEMI, Finland - 66° 30' N

There are several places in the Nordic countries that use the name Arctic Pride, none of them connected to each other. The first in Rovaniemi took place from 22-24 February 2013. The reason I’ve given it an honourable mention is because the city is famous for something else. Rovaniemi is the home of Santa Claus (or Joulupukki to be more accurate, the two characters are not the same and have totally different back-stories, but most people don’t understand this). Why does this matter? A couple of years ago I wrote how this home of “Santa Claus” was created though the direct influence of one lgbt person. I hope to write something about Roveniemi Pride and “Santa Claus” in this year’s Advent series in December.

TROMSØ ARCTIC PRIDE, TROMSØ, Norway – 66° 39'N

This is perhaps the most well-known Arctic Pride in the Nordic countries. From its earliest days it has marketed itself as the most northern Pride on Earth, and still does even though I’ve shown in these last couple of days that it isn’t been since 2010. That’s even before the first Tromsø Arctic Pride took place in November 2014. It actually just missed being in the top 5 northern Prides, being number 6. This year’s Tromsø Arctic Pride takes place from 12 to 15 November with the march on the 14th.

INUVIK PRIDE, INUVIK, Northwest Territories, Canada – 68° 21' N

The North American continent has not yet had a Pride above 69° north. So far the northernmost North American Pride had taken place in Inuvik, a town in the far north of the Northwest Territories of Canada. The first took place there on 21 April 2018.

NORILSK PRIDE, NORILSK, Russia – 69° 20' N

With Russia having the most land above the Arctic Circle it might be of interest to know what could have been its most northern Pride had it not introduced its anti-gay laws. The record goes, not surprisingly perhaps, to the world’s most northern, most polluted, and coldest city, Norilsk, in the Krasnoyearsk krai (a sort of province). It lies on the northern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau. Permission to hold the first Norilsk Pride was rejected in January 2018. This may have made it the remotest Pride held on a continental landmass (i.e. with no sea or ocean in between). The nearest other Pride would have been in another Russian city, Salekhard (66° 32' N) Salekhard 968 km (601 miles) away, whose first Pride for January 2017 was also banned. Otherwise, the nearest Pride that has actually taken place would be Moscow Pride 2,870 km away.

And there you have it. Over the past two days I’ve listed what I believe are the 10 Tops and Bottoms of Prides with a handful of extras thrown in. Don’t forget that the information given in both lists is correct on the date of publication as far as I have researched, and that any one of them could easily be replaced before next June. And also don’t forget that I’ll be writing about Polar Pride on 18th November.