Thousands gather in Midtown for Atlanta Pride celebration

ATLANTA - Tens of thousands of people are together in Midtown Atlanta to mark the 49th annual Atlanta Pride celebration. It's one of the largest pride events in the country.

The Atlanta Pride Parade kicked off the final day of celebrations at noon Sunday with rainbow flags filling the sky.

Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams kicked off the string of brightly colored floats in the parade this year.

In 2018, Abrams became the first gubernatorial nominee in Georgia history to march in the parade.

The Fair Fight founder will be joined by a number of other state political figures including U.S. Congressman John Lewis and Rep. Lucy McBath. Companies very familiar to the area, including Coke, Delta Airlines, and Porsche, will also have employees marching.

While the weekend's festival is about celebrating the LGBTQ community, the Pride Committee says its also about bringing attention to the work left to do.

Big events mean big traffic so authorities are encouraging people to know the parade's route and plan for more time in the car.