In place of crowded and festive in-person parades and celebrations, national pride networks have organized a virtual 24-hour international Global Pride livestream to take place on June 27.
The digital event will feature speeches, music and other performances from figures such as U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, singers Kesha and Rita Ora, and actress Laverne Cox.
The online celebration comes as hundreds of pride parades and festivals around the world were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Organized primarily by the European Pride Organizers Association and InterPride, the event aims to both celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and spotlight its unique challenges, especially during mandatory isolation periods required to contain the virus.
"A lot of people, especially young people, have had to go back maybe to their families who might not be supportive or they had to go back to their home town which might be a bit more conservative," said Ramses Oliva, 24, a trans gay man who is an ambassador for charity Just Like Us which supports LGBT+ young people.
For Oliva, Global Pride will be a time to reflect and be grateful for the efforts of the international LGBTQIA community.
"I think that Pride for a lot of us is going to be just this chance to breathe and to ... remind ourselves of our identities and how important it is to keep celebrating them especially during tough times like this," he told Reuters.
Although many local pride organizations postponed their celebrations in order to focus on racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement, Global Pride said that over 500 Pride organizations submitted more than 1,000 pieces of content. The content will be compiled into a video stream by volunteers.
The event will also focus on the pivotal role of black trans people in the Pride movement in the United States, as well as calling for an end to racism. According to LGBTQIA+ publication Time Out, Global Pride is partnering with Black Lives Matter to raise awareness during the event.
"What makes Global Pride very unique is that this is the first Pride of its kind where we are really focused on bringing the entire LGBT global community together," said Natalie Thompson, a chair of the Global Pride event.
Some information from Reuters was used in this report.
