Taipei Pride 2026: Parade Day and the Nights Around It

On Saturday, October 31, Asia’s biggest Pride parade sets off from City Hall Plaza. Here’s the scene on the day as people who’ve been describe it, the schedule and route, and three events worth adding that week.

On the last Saturday afternoon in October, as you climb the stairs of a metro station near the route, you hear the cheering first. First-timers often say they spotted rainbow hats, flags and painted-on rainbows before they even made it through the ticket gates. At the top of the stairs, the crowd behind all that noise comes into view.

Taipei Pride is Asia’s largest parade, with 130,000 to 200,000 people marching every year. In 2019 Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and more than 200,000 people walked this route that year. This is the 24th edition, and the theme is ‘聲做伙聽，路做伙行’: listen to each other’s voices together, walk the road together. It’s not just parade day; Ximending’s Red House plaza, clubs and bars buzz all week, so it’s worth clearing the whole week.

Taiwan Pride Week 2026

Taipei Pride week: listen to each other, share the streets and stages

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The Streets That Day

The streets fill with rainbow flags, balloons and banners, and music thumps from somewhere. Shirtless dancers move on rainbow trucks decorated by groups and brands, and one year a truck plastered with posters of Taiwanese pop queen Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) rolled by, bouncing to her songs.

Outfits really are all over the place. Elaborate drag and costumes, very short shorts, someone wearing a single rainbow flag as a cape, people in everyday clothes, all mixed into one line. Couples in matching tees holding hands, strollers draped in rainbow fabric, dogs with rainbow ribbons and participants in wheelchairs walk together too.

People along the roadside greet the procession with applause and cheers, and one year shopkeepers in front of the Red House waved transgender flags. In 2023, the director of Amnesty International Taiwan drew huge cheers shouting ‘It’s just marriage’ in halting Korean from a truck, and in 2025 around 130,000 people reportedly marched despite the rain.

One fun detail: the traffic lights stay on during the march, so staff and police blow whistles urging everyone to hurry across on green. That’s why photos taken at crosswalks are usually blurry.

Foreigners who march for the first time say seeing same-sex couples casually holding hands felt almost unreal in the best way, and that walking without worrying about anyone’s gaze was a comfort. It’s not a wild party like San Francisco, but some say that makes it all the more relaxed.

Parade Day Schedule

12:00 Market opens
12:45 Stage begins
13:00 Gathering
14:05 March sets off
16:25 Afternoon stage
18:00 Market closes
18:40 Stage ends

March Route

The march starts at the Citizen Plaza in front of Taipei City Hall, splits into two routes and returns to the plaza.

North route (orange, yellow, green): City Hall Plaza → 仁愛路 → 敦化南路 → 忠孝東路 → 逸仙路 → 仁愛路 → Plaza

South route (red, blue, purple): Plaza → 仁愛路 → 光復南路 → 信義路 → 敦化南路 → 仁愛路 → Plaza

You don’t have to walk the whole thing. The route is roughly 4–5 km, and many people check it on a map and join midway from a nearby station. Just standing by the road cheering the procession on is plenty of fun too.

Getting There

The organizers recommend Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館), Yongchun (永春), Xinyi Anhe (信義安和), Xiangshan (象山) and Nanjing Sanmin (南京三民) stations. City Hall station gets very crowded, so it’s easier to walk in from a stop or two away.

The Evening Before: The Trans March

On Friday, October 30 at 18:30, the day before the parade, the 8th Taiwan Transgender March takes place at 228 Peace Memorial Park (二二八和平紀念公園). It’s free, and the most meaningful first step of Pride week.

GO WITH IT · 3 Events to Add

Warm-up · Tue 10.27 – Thu 10.29

第九屆台北市國際彩虹文化節

By Day at the Red House Plaza

Tue 10.27 – Sun 11.1 · Weekdays from 15:00, weekends from 13:00, until 21:00

A free six-day rainbow culture festival held on the north plaza of Ximending’s Red House (西門紅樓) and the plaza outside Ximen Station Exit 1. Markets and stage shows run throughout, and 11 international brands are taking part this year.

The Red House doesn’t rest when the festival ends. During Pride week, the outdoor bar street behind the Red House is packed every night. Terraces spill out onto the plaza, and drag shows pop up amid rainbow flags, music and laughter. Locals and travelers are about half and half, so striking up a chat with the next table is easy.

Most places stay open until 1 or 2 a.m. Stay in this neighborhood and you can walk home, but Ximending hotels fill up fast during Pride week, so book early.

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Eve · Fri 10.30

Utopia × Tackle!

Two Rugby-Themed Nights for Bears

Fri 10.30 · Sat 10.31 · Utopia 烏托邦, Ximen

Ximen bear bar Utopia 烏托邦 teams up with Tackle! for two nights of parties. On the 30th, the eve of the parade, it’s ‘熊熊前夜祭’ (Bear Eve Party), and on parade night, the 31st, it’s ‘烏托邦驕傲派對’ (Utopia Pride Party).

Performers from Taiwan, Japan and Thailand take the stage with a rugby theme. If you’d rather spend Pride night up close with people who share your taste than at a big circuit party, this is for you.

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About Utopia 烏托邦

Venue photos

Parade nights · Fri 10.30 – Sun 11.1

X-Formosa 2026 彩虹音樂節 (Formosa Pride 2026: NEW ERA)

Three Nights of Asia’s Circuit Party

Fri 10.30 – Sun 11.1 · Wugu, New Taipei · Dress code every night

X-Formosa is Taiwan’s largest circuit party, held over three nights of Pride week. Four parties run back to back: BLACK ARENA on October 30, WHITE EDEN on the 31st, and the WOOF tea dance on the afternoon of November 1 followed by PINK that night.

Last year it reportedly drew about 10,000 people from across Asia, making it the main stage of Pride weekend nights. A big circuit party with international DJs and shows, it’s perfect if you want to keep the parade energy going all night.

The fun part is the dress code: black, white, green/camo, pink. The whole floor changes color as people switch outfits each night. If you’re under 30, look for Youth Friday discount tickets for Friday’s BLACK ARENA. If you’re going all three nights, the 3-day pass is the better deal.

The venue is an exhibition hall in Wugu, New Taipei, but late-night shuttles run back to Ximending from 1 a.m. (voucher included with your ticket required).

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Pride Week at a Glance

Pride week events listed on gway Events, by date

Pride Week in Posters

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Before You Go

Parade day runs long, from morning to the small hours. City Hall Plaza and the march by day, the Red House plaza at sunset, parties at night. Bring water, a power bank and comfy shoes, and a raincoat if rain is in the forecast. Wear a little rainbow somewhere, too.

As the procession passes, people on the roadside clap, and those marching wave back. Whether you walk or watch, join in that applause.