Transformative power of small-scale LGBTQI+ festivals and events

Numerous gay and lesbian Pride Mardi Gras or Carnival events are held worldwide. Festivals and events involving lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, queers, intersex and asexual people, and those of other genders or sexualities' (LGBTQIA+) act as a powerful driver for international gay tourism. This special issue argues that LGBTQIA+ festivals and events do more than support the institutional apparatus of the tourism industry. They have the potential to transform attendees, host destinations, and the broader community. LGBTQIA+ festivals and events offer opportunities for attendees to experience an existential hapax moment, thereby contributing to their transformed understanding and expression of sexual identity. This special issue explicates the transformative power of small-scale LGBTQIA+ festivals and events. Apart from the economic benefits associated with these events, they serve as tools to celebrate social and self-acceptance, and achievements enabled by legal and policy frameworks. They also act as a mechanism to resist discrimination, marginalisation, and invisibility.