Huge crowds for LGBT pride parade in Rio de Janeiro

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rio de Janeiro's Gay Pride gathered a multi-colored sea of people on Sunday.

Waving LGBT rainbow flags in a Carnival-like atmosphere, people of all ages paraded along Copacabana beach to music blaring out from 10 sound trucks.

The theme of the 27th edition of the parade was "Courage to be happy" emphasizing the strength of the LGBT+ community.

"The whole LGBT community is here in Copacabana today, calling out for love, hope, and less hatred," said Sharlene Rosa, coordinator of the Rio Without Homophobia program.

Performers staged the election results with a duo dressed as Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro and Michele Bolsonaro, playing recordings of Bolsonaro dismissing the pandemic and homophobic quotes.

They then got "voted out" as the soundtrack blasted a Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva campaign song that said, "it is time for Bolsonaro to leave".

Activists and politicians also spoke during the parade, before national music artists cheered the crowd.

Brazil still has an alarming number of violent deaths of people from the LGBT community, with a 33 percent rise from 2020 to 2021, according to the "Violent Deaths Against LGBTI+ Observatory."