Gay Pride Festivities Held Around the World

Participants gesture during a gay pride parade in central Istanbul, Turkey, June 29, 2014.

Gay Pride parades have taken place around the world, in cities large and small.

"Pride Weekend" celebrations took place Sunday in several major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

Events also took place internationally on Saturday in France, Spain, Israel, Turkey, Mexico and Peru. The weekend-long event highlights equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community and commemorates the 1969 inception of the modern gay rights movement.

The festivities were expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people, including politicians and celebrities.

The U.S. events come amid an eventful year since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the statute that denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages and cleared the way for gay couples to wed legally in California.

Since then, seven more states have legalized same-sex marriage, boosting the total to 19, plus Washington, D.C.