Hundreds of thousands of people packed into the West End on Sunday afternoon for the Vancouver Pride Parade.

"It's like gay Christmas Day," says Daniel Watson with the Vancouver Men’s Chorus, which had a truck in the parade.

One of this year’s grand marshalls was local transgendered beauty queen Jenna Talackova, who took on American business tycoon Donald Trump for her right to compete in Miss Universe Canada earlier this year.

"Anybody who can go up against Donald Trump and win has got something going," said parade watcher Mel Lahty.

Vancouver Canucks forward Manny Malholtra also marched in the parade with You Can Play. He was joined by players from the Vancouver Cutting Edges, known as the only gay hockey club in Western Canada.

"The idea behind You Can Play is what we as athletes strive for — to be judged based on our talent," Malholtra said. "Hopefully we can make homophobia in sport a thing of the past."

While the parade is all about acceptance and equality, it's also about having a good time.

"It's great, it's for everybody — gay, straight, whatever, any of it," said spectator Chelsea Trites. "[It's] wonderful to see everyone out here, kids playing in the streets and just having fun."

With files from The Canadian Press