A recent European study has found that nearly half of all Pride participants are heterosexual and some often join the parade spontaneously.

The results of the study were released in the run up to this year’s Pride Festival in Stockholm, Sweden, to mark the 18th pride festival in the city.

The poll – conducted during last year’s LGBT event – found that six out of ten people taking part in the Pride Parade were women and four out of ten were heterosexual. These study was conducted a research team at the University of Gothenburg.

Other results showed that every third person who took part in the festivities did so spontaneously and that 42 percent of last year’s participants were between 30 and 49 years old while 35 percent were under the age of 29.

This year’s Stockholm Pride takes place from July 27 until August 1.

The results follow news of a man who tried to organise a “Heterosexual Pride” parade over the weekend – and blamed gay people when no-one else turned up.

Seattle-based Anthony Rebello attempted to hold the event on the city’s Capitol Hil, to celebrate heterosexuals and heterosexuality.

Creating a public Facebook event, he wrote: “We all have the right to celebrate the way of life we have chosen for ourselves. In the name of equality & equal rights, I have created this event to celebrate our right to be heterosexual, and to encourage younger heterosexuals that they should be proud of their heterosexuality.”

However, despite inviting thousands of people along, Rebello appeared to be the only attendee of the actual parade, posting a photograph of himself holding black balloons and a ‘straight pride’ sign.