With hundreds of LGBTQ Pride festivities originally set for June now being canceled or postponed, organizers are taking the celebration online.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Pride groups around the world have convened to create Global Pride 2020, a virtual gathering scheduled for Saturday, June 27, 2020.
Pride organizations around the world have come together to organize a @GlobalPride2020 event on Saturday, 27 June, 2020, in response to the hundreds of Pride celebrations that have been cancelled or postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/N3gv90lZ2q
— InterPride (@InterPride) April 1, 2020
According to its official description, the event will “will use online platforms to deliver a Pride in which everyone can participate, wherever they are in the world. It will include musical performances, speeches, and key messages from human rights activists. The event will be livestreamed, and people will be invited to join in the event from home.”
The initiative is spearheaded by InterPride and the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA), two of the world’s largest coalitions of Pride organizers. Organizations interested in participating in Global Pride can fill out this Google form.
Stateside, 2020 Pride parades in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., have already been called off or pushed back as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise. New York City has yet to cancel or delay its official Pride festivities, although Heritage of Pride, the nonprofit that puts on the event each year, is monitoring the situation and “proceeding with modified operations” as of March 13.
Due to the concerns of COVID-19, CSW will postpone all events related to the 50th Anniversary of LA Pride that were scheduled for June 2020. Organizers are assessing the situation. More information to be provided around the postponement as details become available.
— LA Pride (@lapride) March 12, 2020
In a media statement about Global Pride, EPOA president and Baltic Pride chair Kristine Garina said the “unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 mean that most Prides will not take place as planned in 2020, but we’re determined that this won’t stop us from coming together as a united, strong LGBTQIA+ community to celebrate who we are and what we stand for.”
J. Andrew Baker, InterPride’s co-president, agreed. “We need community and connection more than ever,” he said. “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.”
Follow the Global Pride 2020 event page on Facebook for more updates.