Health first; party later.
Pride is canceled in New York, as the city continues to battle the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the first time that the Pride event – held in June – is getting canceled in its half-century history.
But the move – announced by Heritage of Pride, the organization that runs the annual event – was expected. As of Tuesday, April 21, there were 136,806 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the city; with 18,018 recoveries and 10,344 deaths.
The announcement also follows New York Mayor Bill De Blasio announcement that all permits for large events for the month of June are cancellation of permits for all large events are cancelled.
In a press briefing, De Blasio said that this year’s gathering was supposed to be a “very big deal” because “this year is the 50th anniversary of the pride parade.” But the cancelation was deemed necessary due to recent Covid-19 developments.
Pride would go on in some format “when it’s the right time,” De Blasio said.
New York City is the location of The Stonewall Inn, where an uprising happened din 1969, helping spark the modern LGBTQIA rights movement. The city held its first pride parade in June 1970. Last year’s gathering – which marked the 50th anniversary of the rebellion – drew an estimated five million people.
In lieu of an in-person pride parade this year, Heritage of Pride is endorsing an effort led by InterPride to hold a 24-hour virtual “Global Pride” event on June 27, to be broadcast around the world.
Aside from New York City, other major cities across the US already announced they were canceling or postponing their pride events – e.g. Los Angeles postponed, San Francisco canceled and Seattle said it would “go virtual.”
