After the state legalized same-sex marriages, New York's annual Gay Pride Parade seemed more like a brash, colorful wedding procession on Sunday than an annual rally.

An estimated 2 million spectators turned out to celebrate the 42nd annual LGBT Pride March on Sunday. Many considered it the most electric in the Parade's history, a Reuters report said.

The theme of the parade for this year was Proud and Powerful.

The legalization of the same-sex marriage was signed into law on Friday by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

I have participated in it for many years, but it is extra special today, Cuomo said at a news conference before the parade set off.

I am so proud to be the governor of this state and to sign this law into effect, he added.

The New York Gay Pride Parade is one of the largest and most popular gay events in the United States. It began in 1970 to celebrate the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the event often cited as the start of the American gay rights movement.

A number of local groups marched this year, including New Yorkers United for Marriage, the New York Gay Officers Action League and a fire truck led by the lesbian and gay firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

New York is the sixth, and most populous, U.S. state to legalize gay marriage. It joins Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia.

In India, it has been more than a year since the Delhi High Court ruled that it isn't a crime to be gay. The court struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a relic of the British rule in India. The pride parade in Delhi definitely saw streets full of charged up people with new energy, but in a conservative country like India, one's challenge is to face assertions beyond legal boundaries. Its tough to find social acceptance.

Saturday saw Pride London festivities that included a colourful march through Central London. The famous parade left from Portland Place e and ended up in Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square. U.K is yet to accept same sex marriage as legal. Marriage laws are different for different countries in the UK, however they all prohibit marriages between same-sex couples. In 2005, same-sex couples were allowed to enter into civil partnerships, a separate union which provides the legal consequences of marriage.

Check out the pictures of the Gay Pride Parade all over the world.

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Gay Pride Parade, all over the World
A participant in the Gay Pride Parade pretends to propose to a New York City Police officer in New York June 26, 2011. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi
Gay Pride Parade, all over the World
A couple kiss as they watch the Gay Pride Parade in New York June 26, 2011. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi
Gay Pride Parade, all over the World
Participants attend a Queer Azaadi (freedom), an event promoting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights in New Delhi July 2, 2011. The event was organised to celebrate the second anniversary of the verdict which decriminalised homosexuality in India, a media release said. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Gay Pride Parade, all over the World
Participants dance during a Queer Azaadi (freedom), an event promoting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights in New Delhi July 2, 2011. The event was organised to celebrate the second anniversary of the verdict which decriminalised homosexuality in India, a media release said. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Gay Pride Parade, all over the World
Participants take part in the annual Pride London parade which highlights issues of the gay, lesbian and transgender community, in London, July 2, 2011. REUTERS/Paul Hackett
Gay Pride Parade, all over the World
Revellers attend the annual Gay Pride parade in Madrid July 2, 2011. REUTERS/Andrea Comas
Gay Pride Parade, all over the World
A reveller poses during the annual Gay Pride parade in Madrid July 2, 2011. REUTERS/Andrea Comas
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