With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many festivals, concerts and celebrations have been canceled across the globe. Pride Month has been no exception. The annual June recognition of the Stonewall riots, which started the contemporary LGBTQ+ rights movement, has seen cancellations amid the pandemic.
However, a number of LGBTQ+ activists, organizations and municipalities have taken it upon themselves to adapt to a global climate which favors remote gatherings rather than in-person celebrations. Below is a selection of 10 Pride events hosted around the world which you can participate in remotely from the comfort of your home.
Global Pride
Hosted by InterPride and the European Pride Organisers Association, Global Pride will be an online event held on Saturday, June 27, the 51st anniversary of the start of the Stonewall riots. Featuring musical performances, speeches and other festivities, the event will aim to serve as a way for members of the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate in spite of any canceled local events.
“For millions of people around the globe, Pride is their one opportunity each year to come together and feel a part of a community, to feel loved, connected and to know they aren’t alone,” Kristine Garina, president of the European Pride Organisers Association, said in a press release for the event. “It’s essential this year that as Pride organizers we ensure there is still the opportunity to connect, even if we are connecting from home.”
Digital Dublin Pride Festival
Dublin Pride, 2009. Charles Hutchins. CC BY 2.0.
Dublin, Ireland, will see its annual celebration go virtual from June 18 through June 28. The festival will kick off with a political debate to discuss issues such as hate crime legislation, LGBTQ+ inclusive education and global LGBTQ+ persecution. Other highlights from the event include the Dublin Pride Pet Show on Sunday, June 21, and a virtual parade on Sunday, June 28.
The Digital Dublin Pride Festival is hosted by Dublin LGBTQ Pride and the National LGBT Federation. The event began in March 1983 with a protest march through the heart of Dublin, and has continued annually to this day.
New York City Pride
One of the epicenters for the contemporary LGBTQ+ rights movement, New York City will see the 50th anniversary of its annual Pride event go digital this year. The event, which will be broadcast via New York’s ABC7 on Sunday, June 28, will feature appearances and performances by celebrities including Dan Levy, Yanzi Peng, Janelle Monáe and Billy Porter.
NYC Pride will also host a number of virtual events leading up to the June 28 broadcast. These include the Human Rights Conference on June 25, Savor Pride from June 22 through June 27, and a virtual rally co-hosted by GLAAD on June 26.
Madrid Pride
Madrid Pride, 2015. Ted Eytan. CC BY-SA 2.0.
The Organizing Committee of the LGBTI State Pride will host a virtual festival from July 1 through July 5 in lieu of Madrid’s annual in-person event. While the organization has yet to release official details as to what will take place during the virtual event, the event will be significant considering that it marks the 15th anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Spain.
“This Pride is more necessary than ever and we will continue to celebrate and defend [our rights] as we have done for the past 40 years,” the event’s organizers stated in Spanish in a press release. “Pride 2020 will serve to give voice to the distinct realities faced by the [LGBTQ+ community] during this crisis.”
Black Queer Town Hall
Co-hosted by NYC Pride and GLAAD, the Black Queer Town Hall will be a three-day event dedicated to financially supporting black, queer organizations and black LGBTQ+ performers and activists. The event replaced the Pride 2020 Drag Fest, and hopes to shed light on the experiences of black members of the LGBTQ+ community in response to recent global demonstrations against police brutality.
The organizers of the Black Queer Town Hall are currently accepting donations ahead of the event via a GoFundMe page. At the time of this article’s publication, the page had raised over $98,000.
#PrideEverywhere
The Trevor Project, a crisis intervention and suicide prevention nonprofit for LGBTQ+ youth, is hosting the #PrideEverywhere campaign throughout June. According to the organization’s website, the campaign “is about remembering what’s at the heart of our community—values we live every day, and values the world needs so much right now. No matter how challenging things may seem, this much is true: Pride isn’t going anywhere, because Pride is everywhere.”
The #PrideEverywhere campaign includes social media filters, a video by singer Demi Lovato, and a donation drive to help support the work done by The Trevor Project.
PRIDE Virtual 2020 - Marcha de la Diversidad
Costa Rica will celebrate it’s 11th annual March of Diversity Pride event on Sunday, June 28. While the organizers of the event have not yet released details on what will take place, the celebration is significant this year because Costa Rica became the first Central American country to legalize same-sex marriage on May 26, 2020.
The annual event in San Jose has grown to be one of the largest LGBTQ+ events in Latin America, seeing tens of thousands of participants in 2019.
50 Years of Pride
The GLBT Historical Society is currently working with the several San Francisco-based organizations to showcase its 50 Years of Pride online exhibition. The virtual gallery, which was curated by artist Lenore Chinn and Pamela Peniston, artistic director for the Queer Cultural Center, features historical photos from various Pride events around the San Francisco Bay Area from 1970 through the present day.
A larger photography exhibition which will continue the work of this current project will be housed in San Francisco City Hall at a later date.
Unity Pride
London Pride, 2017. MangakaMaiden Photography. CC BY 2.0.
Unite UK, a digital LGBTQ+ publication, will host a number of discussions and performances on Friday, June 19. The event, titled Unity Pride, will feature discussion panels such as “Stop Sexualising Queer Womxn” and “Celebrating Body Image & Fashion in the LGBTQ+ Community.”
Unity Pride is one of several virtual United Kingdom-based Pride celebrations. Others throughout the month include the weeklong Pride at Home, hosted by Attitude magazine, and Essex Pride Uploaded, which will be held on Saturday, June 20.
Out Now Live
Online magazine Them will host its inaugural virtual Pride celebration on Monday, June 22. Out Now Live, happening on YouTube, will feature performances, speeches and messages from a number of prominent figures in and allies to the LGBTQ+ community, including Adam Lambert, Bretman Rock, Cara Delevingne, Elton John, Princess Nokia, Shangela and Whoopi Goldberg.
The event will also include a fundraiser for the Ali Forney Center, an organization based out of New York City which works to combat the LGBTQ+ homelessness crisis.
Jacob Sutherland
is a recent graduate from the University of California San Diego where he majored in Political Science and minored in Spanish Language Studies. He previously served as the News Editor for The UCSD Guardian, and hopes to shed light on social justice issues in his work.