Cities across the US will celebrate Pride Month this weekend with marches, concerts, talks, fundraisers and more.

The events are meant to celebrate the lives of LGBT individuals, and to recognise the struggles these communities face. Many of the marches are the culmination of weeks of celebration and education throughout June, which is recognised around the world as Pride Month.

International Pride events take place through the summer, with Paris celebrating next week (30 June), London and Madrid staging parades on 7 July and Amsterdam's main event not coming until 4 August. But for the US, many of the biggest and most notable celebrations are happening this weekend.

Pride Month around the globe Show all 16 1 /16 Pride Month around the globe Pride Month around the globe Thousands take to streets of Sao Paulo to join the Pride Parade on June 3rd Reuters Pride Month around the globe A bulldog is dressed for the occasion at the Pride Parade in Queens, New York on June 3rd Reuters Pride Month around the globe A reveller in a unicorn mask watches on as the Baltic Pride Parade passes by in Riga, Latvia EPA Pride Month around the globe Rome's Pride Parade passes the Colosseum AP Pride Month around the globe The US and the Republic of Ireland marked the beginning of Pride Month by incorporating the rainbow into their kits at an international friendly in Dublin on June 2nd Reuters Pride Month around the globe A marching band takes part in the annual Pride Parade in Athens on June 9th AFP/Getty Pride Month around the globe Pride is celebrated at the annual parade in San Juan, Puerto Rico on June 3rd AFP/Getty Pride Month around the globe Taylor Swift marked the beginning of Pride Month with a speech at her Chicago concert on June 1st. She s"It's very brave to be vulnerable about your feelings in any situation, but it's even more brave to be honest about your feelings and who you love when you know that it might be met with adversity from society," Getty Pride Month around the globe Members of the RAF await the start of the Pride Parade in York on June 9th Getty Pride Month around the globe Pride is celebrated with a great many balloons at the 11th Pride Parade in Sofia, Bulgaria on June 9th AFP/Getty Pride Month around the globe Pride is celebrated in the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel on June 8th EPA Pride Month around the globe Thousands take to streets of Sao Paulo to join the Pride Parade on June 3rd EPA Pride Month around the globe US players mark Pride Month by wearing rainbow coloured numbers on their shirts in an international football friendly against France Reuters Pride Month around the globe Thousands take to streets of Sao Paulo to join the Pride Parade on June 3rd Reuters Pride Month around the globe Pride is celebrated at the parade in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico on June 10th AFP/Getty Pride Month around the globe Great Western Railway, which covers England's West Country, unveils a Pride train at Paddington station on June 7th Getty

Which cities are celebrating Pride this weekend?

Major marches have already taken place in cities like Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington DC. But more than a dozen Pride celebrations are kicking off this weekend, from cities as small as Flagstaff, Arizona – population 71,000 – to metropolises like New York City.

Seattle, Washington is hosting its 44th annual Pride march on Sunday, while Augusta, Georgia is celebrating Pride number nine. Californians can mark the occasion in Orange County or San Francisco, and Ohio residents can choose between marches in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Additional Pride marches will take place in Houston, Texas; Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota; Nashville, Tennessee and St Louis, Missouri, among others.

Daniela Lopez smiles as she walks under a rainbow held by two men during a gay pride celebration in Dolores Park on June 27, 2015 (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

What is LGBT Pride Month?

LGBT Pride Month stems from the historic riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. Protests broke out in June 1969 outside Stonewall, after police raided the popular LGBT bar. Organisers in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco held marches the following June to honour the riot participants, and the tradition soon spread across the country.

Since the initial Pride marches of the 1970s, the festivities have extended to fill the entire month of June. The marches have been used to call attention to everything from marriage equality to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. They have slowly expanded to include events focused on women and transgender people, as well.

President Bill Clinton recognised June as Pride Month in 1999 – a tradition Barack Obama carried on during his presidency.

Taylor Swift gives passionate speech to mark start of Pride Month

Who will have the biggest pride parades this weekend?

While dozens of cities will be celebrating this weekend, a few marches stand out as some of the largest and longest-lived in the country.

New York City, the home of Stonewall Inn, hosts its annual Pride parade on 24 June. The parade regularly draws more than 2m people, as participants march through the streets of Manhattan alongside colorful floats.

The city also hosts a range of other events over the weekend, including an LGBTQIA+ street fair known as PrideFest. Pride Island – a multi-day music festival – will also take place on a pier near the center of the city.

On the opposite coast, more than 1m people are expected to turn out for San Francisco's pride march on Sunday. The theme of this year’s event is “Generations of Strength,” and will also include a Trans March on Friday and a Dyke March on Saturday. Special guests at Sunday’s march include Gavin Grimm, a transgender 18-year-old whose case was recently argued in front of the Supreme Court.

Some 750,000 people are also expected to participate in Chicago’s Pride weekend, which the city bills as “a two-day festival and a world-famous parade”. The march itself will span 21 blocks, and culminate in a 15-hour dance party near Lake Michigan.

London Pride 2017 Show all 14 1 /14 London Pride 2017 London Pride 2017 Revellers in Trafalgar Square in front of the National Portrait gallery take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A man wearing two hats attends the Pride in London Festival Getty London Pride 2017 Protesters demonstrate during the Pride in London Festival in London. This year's London Pride event marks 50 years since homosexuality was decriminalised in England and Wales under the 1967 Sexual Offences Getty London Pride 2017 The parade passes Nelson's Column as revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London, EPA London Pride 2017 Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community take part in the annual Pride Parade in London on July 8 AFP London Pride 2017 Revelers enjoy the Pride London Parade in London. The Parade attracts an estimated crowd of 1 million onlookers, while around 26,500 people are taking part in the annual Parade making this the city's biggest one-day event and one of the world's biggest LGBT+ celebrations. AP London Pride 2017 Revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A participant sits on a rainbow coloured flag during the Pride in London Parade in central London PA London Pride 2017 Two men sit on a rainbow flag painted on the pavement at Oxford Circus as revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London, Britain EPA London Pride 2017 Revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A woman from the homeless charity 'Crisis' takes part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 Revellers wave their flags as they take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A woman walks past a shop front decorated with the Pride flag colours Getty London Pride 2017 People ride a tube escalator decorated with the Pride flag colours Getty

What else is going on?

For those who aren’t fans of marches, there are tons of alternative Pride events happening this weekend as well. In New York, for example, pride organisers are putting on a “Cosplay & Pride” sunset cruise, where participants can dress in costume and let their “feathers fly and latex pop to the latest music hits,” according to the event website.

In Chicago, improv comedy group Second City is putting on an entire Pride-themed show, titled “Let’s Make It Perfectly Queer: A Salute to Pride”. The show will be performed by an entirely LGBTQIA cast, and will include original sketches and music.