Tokyo Pride attracts record crowd

SUMMARY: More than 4,000 people celebrated Pride in Tokyo this weekend with a parade and concert, and organizers say the attendance was a record.

TOKYO -- More than 4,000 people celebrated Pride in Tokyo this weekend with a parade and concert, and organizers say the attendance was a record.

Despite a growing gay rights movement in Japan, most gays and lesbians are closeted.

After a parade through the capital, the party moved to Toyogi Park, for an open air concert.

Organizers of the Tokyo Lesbian and Gay Parade 2001 say they are pleased with the turnout. They said it provided a great opportunity to positively shift the image of sexual minorities in Japan.

Pride Festivities were also held in Manchester, England this weekend. The highlight was a parade though the gay village, the setting for the original "Queer As Folk."

Thousands of people lined the streets as 56 floats rolled by.

And, in Nashville, Tenn., more than a thousand people celebrated Pridefest 2001.