NEW YORK Mayor Bill de Blasio is to take part in the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade for the first time, after boycotting the event for two years.
The move comes after the organisers of the march dropped their longstanding ban on allowing gay and lesbian groups to march under their own banners.
In 2014, Mr de Blasio became the first New York Mayor in 20 years not to take part in the world-famous procession along Fifth Avenue because of the row over gay rights.
He refused to attend the 2014 and 2015 parades following a ban on posters or banners promoting gay rights from the event.
Over 300 members of an Irish LGBT group are to take part in this year’s parade, marching under the banner of the ‘Lavender and Green Alliance.’
The group have worked for 25 years to reverse the ban and founded an alternative parade, ‘St Patrick’s For All,’ which marches every year in Queens.
Mr de Blasio told the Associated Press that the parade “is a New York City tradition, but for years Irish LGBT New Yorkers could not show their pride.”
“Finally, they can celebrate their heritage by marching in a parade that now represents progress and equality.”
New York City just got a little bit better.
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) March 3, 2016
Thank you, @StPatsParadeNYC! pic.twitter.com/5lPVsahQ8o
