Venture about 20 miles outside the city and it's like the wicker man central.

:laugh: Would that be Summerisle? Does Sergeant Howie still work there?

ILGA-Europe (dot) Org provides a chart of friendly European countries. At the moment, Malta, Belgium and United Kingdom are the top three. Other countries like Germany and Holland (Netherlands) have dropped. Germany is down from 2 in 2012 to 16 and Holland dropped from 5 to 11.

But it depends on what you mean by friendly. While the UK has stayed in the top 3 over the last 4 years, the English[nb]Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own opinions which may or may not be different. As I'm a soft-southerner, I couldn't possibly comment.[/nb] have a long history of being a bunch of puritanical priggish[nb]Sorry, I know these aren't commonly used words, but they really do sum up the English. In case you've not seen them before -
Puritan: Having or displaying a very strict or censorious moral attitude towards self-indulgence or sex.
Prig: A self-righteously moralistic person who behaves as if they are superior to others.[/nb] kill-joys. So outside gay hot spots[nb]Gay hot spots would be Soho in London, the Canal area in Manchester and of course Brighton (the gay capital of the UK).[/nb], you would risk a hostile welcome if you dare to flaunt your poofery. So no mincing down Chatham[nb]World capital of Chav'dom.
Chav: A young lower-class person typified by brash and loutish behaviour.[/nb] High street in your finest tiara, sequin ball-gown and high heels.

Anybody know can name a gay friendly Asian country that is NOT Thailand?

Don't know about 'most friendly in the world' but I think Toronto is pretty damn queer. You see gays on the street everywhere, there are lots of bars and parties (in the gay village and all over the city), there's a gay bookshop, and WorldPride was hosted there a couple years ago. Never ever felt unwelcome there, and there's tonnes of variety within the community too.

:bananadope:

Amsterdam is very expensive & commercial, Paris is better, but other parts of France can be patchy.

Here in the UK, some local government agencies in London are killjoys, clamping down on anything that's fun. There are still loads of places to go, but there is a wind of right-wing change blowing. Manchester, Leeds, Blackpool, and Newcastle are OK.

Well, definitely not China.

Being patriotic I have to say London, no one really cares about anything and the uk is number 1 on the LGBT rights index. I have to say though I think a lot of the rest of the UK needs to do some catching up with tolerance

I beg to differ on the UK being tolerant - Gay Cure therapy is still legal in the UK despite being comdemned by public health England and NHS think tanks.  When surveyed 1 in 10 doctors currently working in the UK healthcare thought homosexuality can be cured (this average doubles in London and the surrounding areas). One in six psychotherapists in the UK have treated someone for being gay and our government could chose to make the practice illegal in this country and do nothing.  This is before you get into the treatment of LGBT assylum seekers by UK officials and the fact that marriage equality laws gave religion and opt out clause to keep discriminating based on sexual orientation.   I think the UK has a long way to go on LGBT equality and in the wake of the Bexit vote a long way to go in Equality and Tolerance in general.

Also to add the BBC bravely creates a children's drama raising awareness of issues surround trans gendered children's and the absolute vile that is raised as a result sickened me to my very stomach - I think this country is particularly bad with transgender rights and not nearly enough is done to help protect transgendered people from facing discrimination.

When I visited Stockholm during the pride, I felt secured and it seemed like almost everyone views it as another event of the year. Not many places in the world you would see grandparents bringing their grandchildren to see a gay parade with a smile and open attitude.

I live in a small city in Canada and our gay pride parade is exactly as described. It's becoming more and more common to raise the gay flag during Pride Week and trans* flag during Trans Awareness Week, even in small towns. There are intolerant people, but I'd say most Canadians adopt a "live and let live" philosophy. We've done a good job at integration as well, as our gay districts have their share of sex shops, bars, clubs, etc. but they are also family friendly with average businesses that are supportive of LGBT rights and maybe have some cool products, services or layout because of the location in the district. When I went to Germany, I found their gay districts to be all about the party scene. Not bad, just different.

I've never been to the Netherlands but they seem to be the world standard for acceptance. Nordic countries seem to be doing a really good job as well.

LGBT rights (or even parades) mean nothing when it comes down to true acceptance. Brazil allows same-sex marriage, adoption and has huge gay parades but it's a living hell for any LGBT person. Same goes to South Africa, they have the most progressive protections to LGBT individuals but Afrikaners tend to be very traditional and black Africans will literally kill their gay relatives believing they are either possessed by the devil or supporting some sort of "evil Western agenda".

@miggy04:

Some say it's the Nordic countries. Anyone from there who wants to validate that? 

Scandinavia was the first place to legalize gay marriage.  Even though they are extremely tolerant, there is almost no gay scene, which was decreased by the government to prevent the spread of AIDS.

The Netherlands was the first country to legalise same-sex marraige, followed by Belgium. Neither of those countries are Scandinavian.

Some say it's the Nordic countries. Anyone from there who wants to validate that? 

Scandinavia was the first place to legalize gay marriage.  Even though they are extremely tolerant, there is almost no gay scene, which was decreased by the government to prevent the spread of AIDS.