2018 NYC AIDS Walk: Central Park Ceremony, Walk/Run Routes

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on Central Park on Saturday, May 20, to raise millions for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and other tri-state AIDS service organizations for this year's AIDS Walk New York.

Participants can register for the traditional 10-mile walk or a 5-mile run, organizers said. Participating in AIDS Walk New York is free and runners and walkers are encouraged to reach out to family, friends and co-workers to sponsor them.

This year's opening ceremony in Central Park will feature a lineup of celebrities including "Queer Eye" stars Antoni Porowski and Tan France, Broadway' Michael Urie and Andrew Rannells and actors Matt Bomer, Rosie Perez and Zachary Quinto. The ceremony will begin at 9:15 a.m. before the walk and run.

A post-walk show will also be held at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield featuring performances by the Pointer Sisters, Frenchie Davis and stars of "RuPaul's Drag Race."

"Given our polarizing political climate, it’s important that we come together to show that stigma, discrimination, and ignorance have no place in our society or in our response to HIV/AIDS," Gay Men's Health Crisis CEO Kelsey Louie said in a statement.

"HIV/AIDS remains an urgent public health and social justice crisis. Over the past 30-plus years, the tens of thousands of people who have joined together for AIDS Walk New York have not only raised crucial funds we need to help end this epidemic, but have demonstrated to the world the power of a united group of caring individuals."

The traditional 10-mile walk takes participants through Central Park and the streets of the Upper West Side and the 5-mile run is held entirely within the park.

This year's walk will begin within Central Park on Terrace Drive (72nd Street). The route takes walkers through the Park up to the West 110th Street exit. Walkers then head west until Riverside Drive, head south and then cut across West 74th Street to re-enter the park. The 5-mile run follows a similar route, but instead of exiting the park at West 110th Street runners will turn south and run alongside the west end of the park.

AIDS Walk New York was founded in 1986 and has raised more than $150 million for Gay Men's Health Crisis and likeminded organizations.

"As one of the city’s largest and most diverse community events, AIDS Walk New York continues to help us celebrate how far we’ve come while we also shining a spotlight on the work we still need to do—and what we must overcome," Craig R. Miller, founder and senior organizer of the walk, said in a statement.

Check out the walk/run route maps below:

Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images News/Getty Images