More than 100,000 people flocked to the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel's coastal commercial capital, on Friday to celebrate the launch of the week-long 16^th Annual Gay Pride Parade on Friday.

Thousands of gays, lesbians and supporters flocked to Tel Aviv, waving rainbow flags and dancing to the music. Pavements were painted with colors while same sex couples freely held hands and kissed in public, walking through hundreds of stalls selling rainbow colored balloons, wristbands, stickers and flags.

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Transsexuals wearing sequined dresses and high heels sang and performed "Let It Go" from the Disney film Frozen, while songs from Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and the Spice Girls played from the speakers.

The Parade welcomed transsexual singer Dana International, winner of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, as this year's guest of honor.

Attendees of the parade saw the event as a wonderful opportunity to get together and celebrate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, to show their pride and not be ashamed of it.

"Don't be scared. Accept yourself as you are. Do what you want and love yourself," said 16 year old Achinoam who was with her friend Tamir and his boyfriend.

Tamir, who sported a shirt saying "Let's get one thing straight: I'm not" said that he had just come out last year with his boyfriend. He feels great about it and is excited about the parade.

Similarly, Australian tourists, Ann Lazar and husband who just happened upon the parade, were excited about the parade.

"I think it's amazing. The parade in Melbourne is nowhere near as big as this. This is electric, it's absolutely fabulous," she said.

Much unlike the "sexually provocative" gay parades in other countries, Tel Aviv's parade was also a family affair, the Jerusalem Post has learned.

"We came today with our daughter because it's important to celebrate this event to show all the people in Israel that we have the same family as everyone else," Michal Izahargelder said who was with her partner and one year old daughter, Noa. She also said she hopes her daughter would face less discrimination because she has 2 mothers.

"In the last years lots of families come to the Pride Parade. My hope is we have similar laws for everyone. I hope for equality."

Tel Aviv, Israel's financial capital and major performing arts and business center, is one of the few known places in the Middle East that openly welcome the LGBT community.

It is also home to a number of foreign embassies, including the U.S. embassy that, for the first time, had raised a rainbow flag next to the American flag outside its office, in support of the Pride Week.

"For the first time in history, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised the Pride flag together with our American flag. We are proud to join with the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo and its residents in celebrating LGBT Pride Wee," U.S. Ambassador Daniel Shapiro wrote on the embassy's Facebook page on Tuesday.

However, some Americans did not agree with Shapiro's views and said that it did not represent the views of all Americans, demanding the flag to be taken down, according to the Independent.

"This flag being hoisted next to the American flag is inappropriate. How is this "gay pride flag" representative of all Americans? The answer is, it is not! This flag needs to come down," the incensed citizen wrote.

Another had even set up a petition for no other flag to be posted at American embassies except for its own flag.

Nevertheless, many others had also showed their support and described Shapiro's act as "appropriate and inclusive".

A gay Facebook user had also praised the act and thanked Shapiro and President Obama. "It's great to be a gay American," he wrote.

Another Facebook user said, "This is what core American values are - freedom, liberty, equality... and support for *everyone*. It's great to see America taking a stand in the world for those who are (or may be) marginalized not only by their fellow countrymen, but also their government."

TagsLGBT, lesbian, Gay, transsexual, Bisexual, transgender, Human Rights, gay parade, tel aviv, World News, Society news, cultural news, gay celebration, gay pride, LGBT supporters, rainbow flag, Dana International, Daniel Shapiro