Pride Month: Celebrate the LGBTQ community at these online events
With many in-person events canceled, LGBTQ groups are taking Pride 2020 online.
Pride Month looks different this year.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of Pride Month, but many celebrations are going to look different this year. Nearly 500 LGBTQ events have been canceled or postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a global list by the European Pride Organizers Association. And some LGBTQ organizations are also choosing to use this time to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
More than 100 LGBTQ leaders and organizations have united to combat racial violence and injustice as Pride Month gets underway, according to an open letter released earlier this month by the Human Rights Campaign.
"We understand what it means to rise up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than, that our lives don't matter. Today, we join together again to say #BlackLivesMatter and commit ourselves to the action those words require," the letter says.
George Floyd
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 2, 2020
Ahmaud Arbery
Breonna Taylor
Nina Pop
Tony McDade
These aren't just names on a list -- they're people who were killed simply for being Black in America. We must take action and call out systemic racism at every level.https://t.co/UJPNG4ZiCS
As for taking Pride festivities online, one such effort is Global Pride. The European Pride Organizers Association said in April that it'll partner with InterPride and other LGBTQ organizations internationally to host this global online Pride event.
"Every Pride organizer in the world can tell you a story of someone whose life changed when they visited Pride, and so with so many Prides being canceled or postponed, as organizers we felt we had a responsibility to come together and deliver Pride online," Kristine Garina, president of the European Pride Organizers Association, said in a statement.
Moving the celebration to a virtual platform may also give some people the opportunity to participate in Pride for the first time, according to Julian Sanjivan, InterPride co-president and one of the chief organizers of Global Pride. "This means people who aren't out, or who are living in socially conservative countries, can take part."
Global Pride is part of a wave of digital celebrations launching over the course of this month. Here are some of the virtual festivals you can attend.
Global Pride
Hosted by the European Pride Organizers Association and InterPride in partnership with other LGBTQ organizations around the globe, this worldwide virtual event will feature 24 hours of musical performances, speeches from world leaders and messages from human rights activists.
Singer Ava Max, Brazilian pop-star Pabllo Vittar, Australian drag queen Courtney Act, President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado Quesada and the first openly gay prince of India, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, are among the many people scheduled to appear.
The event can be streamed on YouTube and the Global Pride website on June 27.
NYC Pride
NYC Pride will be hosting a series of Pride-centered events throughout June. These include a virtual rally on Facebook and YouTube hosted by transgender journalist Ashlee Marie Preston and transgender actor Brian Michael Smith on June 26. Participants can register for free through the portal on the NYC Pride website.
Following the rally, NYC Pride will be partnering with ABC for a special broadcast event on June 28. The event will air on ABC and feature performances from Janelle Monáe, Deborah Cox, Billy Porter, Luísa Sonza and others.
NYC Pride will also be partnering with LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD to present Pride 2020 Dragfest, a three-day digital festival celebrating the LGBTQ community and local drag performers. The virtual performances will run June 19 through June 21 on NYC Pride's and GLAAD's Facebook pages.
HBO Human by Orientation
HBO is hosting a series of digital Pride events on its Human by Orientation website. The new Pride-dedicated site aims to "provide a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community and allies to gather, recharge and celebrate our queerest, proudest selves", according to HBO.
The daily online events will include brunches and story times with drag queens, town hall discussions and performances by Janelle Monáe, Todrick Hall and Kim Petras.
The events will be held from June 19 through June 28 at various times. To participate, you can sign-up for free on the Human by Orientation website.
The Sims Pride Parade
YouTuber EnglishSimmer will host a virtual Pride Parade livestream on The Sims' Twitch channel.
Players can submit their Pride-ready Sims using the hashtag #SimsPride2020 on social media or uploading to The Sims 4 Gallery for a chance to be featured in the parade. All submissions are due on June 29 to be ready for the Twitch livestream parade on June 30.
San Francisco Pride
San Francisco Pride will host an online celebration and rally on June 27 and June 28. The event will feature live and prerecorded performances, and greetings from LGBTQ community members, elected officials and celebrities.
The event can be livestreamed via San Francisco Pride's website.
Seattle Pride
Seattle Pride will be holding a series of online events the weekend of June 26 through June 28. Each day will be hosted by a different organization.
The event on June 26, called TransPride, will be hosted by the Gender Justice League, a gender and sexuality civil and human rights organization headquartered in Seattle. It'll feature appearances by local and national talent, but the details on who will appear haven't yet been announced.
The event on June 27 will be hosted by PrideFest, the nonprofit known for producing Pride events around the nation. The celebration will feature a 12-hour livestream, including designated hours for families and queer youth. Seattle PrideFest said that in solidarity with the people currently protesting racial injustice, PrideFest will be centering much of its content on black voices and black artists.
On June 28, Seattle Pride will host a virtual village where online attendees can check out "booths" set up by a variety of LGBTQ organizations. The virtual village will also feature musical performances.
To participate in Seattle's weekend of online festivities, you can register for free on the Together for Pride website.
Cincinnati Black Pride
Cincinnati (Cincy) Black Pride will be hosting a series of online events from June 25 to June 28, including a film festival and an awards ceremony.
The scheduled events aim to celebrate the cultural and social contributions made by black LGBTQ-identifying people, according to Cincy Black Pride's website.
Broadway Plus Pride
Broadway Plus, which creates VIP packages and virtual experiences for Broadway shows, is hosting a free online Q&A with LGBTQ actors.
Telly Leung, known for playing Aladdin in Aladdin and Wes in Glee; Sean Green Jr., who's played both George Washington and Aaron Burr in Hamilton; and recent Tony-nominee Jenn Colellaare among the many people scheduled to appear.
The Pride-centered Q&A is scheduled for June 19 at 2 p.m. ET via Zoom. To participate, you can register for free through the Broadway Plus website.
The Trevor Project's Pride Everywhere
The nation's largest crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, the Trevor Project, has partnered with pop singer Demi Lovato to launch the Pride Everywhere campaign.
Instead of hosting a scheduled event, the Trevor Project encourages LGBTQ youth to share photos on social media with the hashtag #PrideEverywhere using the Trevor Project's filter. The Pride campaign aims to celebrate the unity and diversity of the LGBTQ community in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Pride isn't just about parades, it's about celebrating what makes our LGBTQ community thrive. It's about finding our strength even in times of challenge, sharing our joy even in moments of pain, and creating space to express and celebrate who we are, said Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project in a release last month. "People around the world are staying at home, but we at The Trevor Project believe that no matter where you are, you can still find Pride."
