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World leaders, royals and human rights activists will headline a 24-hour online celebration of gay pride organized after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation or postponement of hundreds of L.G.B.T.Q. pride events around the world, organizers announced on Saturday.
The event, which is scheduled for June 27, will feature remarks by Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg and President Carlos Alvarado Quesada of Costa Rica, which legalized same-sex marriage this week. Mary Elizabeth, crown princess of Denmark, and Manvendra Singh Gohil, the first openly gay prince of India, are also expected to deliver taped remarks.
The names of musicians and bands who will perform in the event, which will be streamed on the Global Pride website and YouTube, will be announced throughout June, organizers said.
“Every Pride organizer in the world can tell you a story of someone whose life changed when they visited Pride,” Kristine Garina, president of the European Pride Organizers Association, said in a statement. “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.”
There are more than 1,500 pride celebrations across the globe, according to Global Pride, and all are invited to participate. The organizers plan to include videos from regional L.G.B.T.Q. pride networks in the 24-hour livestream.
Across the United States, pride events have been canceled or postponed in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles as well as in Indianapolis; Charlottesville, Va.; and Birmingham, Ala. Some cities have started lifting stay-at-home measures and some people may be able to watch with friends or at bars or other locations. Organizers are encouraging viewers to follow local officials’ health guidelines.
In addition to broadening the potential reach of the programming, moving pride celebrations to a virtual platform may allow some L.G.B.T.Q. people to participate for the first time, according to a president of InterPride, 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,” the president, Julian Sanjivan, said in the statement.
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