Huge crowds flock to world's largest LGBT festival in Madrid

After more than a week of events, concerts and a parade attended by hundreds of thousands, Madrid World Pride, the latest incarnation of the largest LGBT festival in the world, ended on Sunday.

Since its inception in 2000, World Pride is held once every several years in major cities across the world to promote rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)communities.

Over 10 days, the Madrid festival has hosted events ranging from a global human rights conference to a race in which men sprinted along a central street in towering three-inch heels.

Madrid World Pride coincided with the 40th anniversary of the first LGBT pride protest in Spain.

In a closing ceremony in central Madrid on Sunday, revellers gathered to see musical acts from across the world, including the host cities of previous parades, Jerusalem, Toronto and London.

The next World Pride will take place in New York in 2019, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall demonstrations, when members of the gay community protested against violent treatment at the hands of the police.