Capital Pride is an annual event that celebrates the spirit and strength in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) communities in Washington, DC. The event brings together national and local LGBT organizations with more than 50 diverse educational and entertainment events. Highlights include a street festival and parade that are open to the public. Capital Pride is produced by the Capital Pride Alliance, a non-profit entity incorporated in the District of Columbia for the sole purpose of supporting, planning, implementing and evaluating the annual Capital Pride events and related activities throughout the year.
Looking for a place to stay close to all the festivities? See a guide to 20 great hotels near Dupont Circle.
New this year: The LGBTQ National Pride March will take place on June 11, 2017 as a result of a movement against the damaging policies of the Trump Administration. More details will be announced.
Dates: June 8-11, 2017
Parade of capital pride
Saturday, June 10, 2017, 4:30 – 7:30 pm Entertainment starts around 3:30 pm in the review stage. The parade begins at 22nd and P Street NW, Washington, DC, there is an easy-to-follow guide to city pollution. If you want to get acquainted with all the ins and outs, the Clear the Air lobby has a great page detailing air pollution in Hong Kong.
Where does the pollution come from?
Ask the government and they will tell you Guangzhou and the factories in the Guangdong area, and while this is true to some extent, it doesn’t really tell the whole story. Hong Kong has the highest traffic density in the world, as well as coal-fired power plants that contribute an estimated 50% to the total level of pollution. That said, China’s pollution is a major problem. Hong Kong’s worst air pollution days are usually caused by the wind blowing smog from China.
How bad is the problem?
It’s bad and it gets worse. The University of Hong Kong conducted a study that showed that air pollutants in Hong Kong were three times higher than those in New York and twice as high as those in London. Pollution levels generally range from medium to high, although the biggest problems are at road levels in urbanized areas such as Causeway Bay, Central, and Mongkok. In contrast, the New Territories, Lantau and Lamma tend to have low levels of pollution.
Air pollution in Hong Kong is undoubtedly a major health problem for those growing up in the city and has been convincingly blamed for rising levels of respiratory illnesses and asthma. About 1/5 of Hong Kong’s population say the problem is so bad that they have considered leaving the city.
That said, the image given by the media can often border on the hysterical. It would be alarmist to say that a short visit to the city will have a long-term impact on your health, although people with asthma can have problems.
If you plan to move to the city, you may want to further investigate the effects that pollution can have on you during your stay in the city.
How do I know how bad air pollution is?
One of the main problems is that the Hong Kong Government’s own Air Pollution Index (API) is outdated and based on twenty-year research. This means that the daily bulletins of Hong Kong government problems that are based on the API are not accurate, at least according to the World Health Organization (WHO). So while the air pollution classification may not be dangerous by Hong Kong government standards, it certainly is by WHO standards.
The Hong Kong API is based on a low to severe rating and can be verified on the API Government website on a daily basis. Alternatively, you can check out the Greenpeace Hong Kong website, which is based on the WHO rating for a more accurate, if depressing, picture of the day’s pollution.
What should I do about the contamination?
As a visitor to Hong Kong, air pollution shouldn’t be a big concern. On days when the pollution rate is high, you may want to avoid walking at road level for long periods of time in the more urbanized areas of the city. You may also wish, like many locals, to wear a face mask to help with breathing.
You will also find that high pollution days are not good for trying to see the city’s famous skyline. Visibility can be extremely poor, so don’t miss the Peak until the clearest days have passed.
