Thousands of people marched through the streets of Belem on Saturday to press for action from negotiators holding tough talks at the United Nations’ Cop30 climate conference in the Amazonian city.

Under a baking sun, indigenous people mixed with activists gathered in a festive atmosphere, blasting music from speakers, carrying a giant beach ball of Earth and holding a flag of Brazil emblazoned with the words “Protected Amazon”.

It was the first major protest outside the annual climate talks since Cop26 four years ago in Glasgow, as the last three gatherings were held in locations with little tolerance for demonstrations – Egypt, Dubai and Azerbaijan.

Branded the “Great People’s March” by organisers, the Belem rally comes at the halfway point of contentious negotiations and follows two indigenous-led protests that disrupted proceedings earlier in the week.

“Today we are witnessing a massacre as our forest is being destroyed,” said Benedito Huni Kuin, a 50-year-old member of the Huni Kuin indigenous group from western Brazil.