Even in the face of a pandemic, our Pride will go on.
While many in-person Pride events are announcing their cancellations or postponements, a bunch of organizations are getting together to livestream a digital Pride across the world on June 27. According to the South Florida Gay News, InterPride and the European Pride Organizers Association are working with Pride organizations in almost every continent. The goal is “to bring communities and Pride organizations together for this Global Pride event” that “will use online platforms to deliver a Pride in which everyone can participate, wherever they are in the world.”
InterPride and the European Pride Organizers Association shared this mission through a press release they distributed last Wednesday. In this announcement, the organizations say the virtual Pride will include musical performances, speeches, and key messages from human rights activists.
“We need community and connection more than ever,” said InterPride Co-President J. Andrew Baker. “This gives us an opportunity to both connect and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community’s resilience in the face of this pandemic and the true spirit of Pride.”
One of the many Pride organizations that recently announced its cancelation was the Capital Pride Alliance, which runs most of the Pride events in D.C. Along with that, the Center for Black Equity also canceled its upcoming events.
“For the first time in 30 years, we will not gather in D.C. to celebrate our community during Memorial Day Weekend,” the Center for Black Equity shared in a statement. “We will celebrate the 30th D.C. Black Pride in 2021, bigger and more celebratory than ever.”
That said, Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos later shared that his organization will be participating in this combined virtual Pride.
“We will be participating and look forward to us all thinking outside the box as to how we can celebrate and have Pride,” Bos told the Washington Blade,
We’ll see what other cities, countries, and organizations join this international and virtual Pride event as we get closer to June.
