Shanghai Pride, mainland China's first gay pride festival, has concluded on June 14, 2009 with an estimated total attendance of 3,000 spread over eight days of activities.

General Sponsor of Shanghai Pride 2009 was LELO, Swedish based company designing only the world's best pleasure objects for women and their partners.

The highlight of the weeklong fest was a garden party held at Cotton's Restaurant and Bar on Xinhua Road on Saturday which kicked off with a muscleman competition and featured performances by local drag queens, capoeira performances, Chinese dance, Peking opera, games, lucky draws and a silent auction. The mood at the party was highly festive, and the event attracted a standing-room-only crowd -- many of whom have travelled in from other parts of China.
Festival spokeswoman Hannah Miller said, "We are absolutely overwhelmed by the enthusiastic show of support that we've received and we would like to commend the local authorities for their light-handed approach in handling our events. Many of our friends in the local gay community who have previously been unwilling or fearful of coming out now feel greatly encouraged that there is space for China's 50 million gay people to live and celebrate their lives their own way. Just a few years ago, this event would have been utterly unimaginable, but the success of Shanghai Pride is testament to China's growing tolerance and diversity today."

The day's festivities ended on a high note with a dance party held at a separate venue on the Bund that ended in the wee hours of the morning.

Festival organisers remain hopeful that a similar event can be hosted in 2010, but no concrete plans have been announced yet.

For more information, please view our website at www.shanghaipride.com and the website of our general sponsor, LELO at www.lelo.com .

Publisher / author::

LELO. Lust Objectified.