Hundreds of people wearing pink attended Singapore's annual Pink Dot LGBTQ rally on Saturday, the first to be held since the city-state decriminalised gay sex last year.

Brandishing rainbow flags and sporting glittery makeup, participants gathered in a downtown park — the only place in Singapore where protests are allowed without a police permit.

"I'm celebrating today because it's been a really long fight," said Ernest Seah, a gay 58-year-old artist and teacher, while sitting on a pink inflatable couch.