Today, the Board of Directors of San Francisco Pride announced the first wave of entertainers participating in the official Pride 50 online celebration. The weekend-long tribute to LGBTQ+ luminaries and queer solidarity will be hosted by some of San Francisco's most iconic drag queens and activists, including Honey Mahogany, Per Sia, Sister Roma, and Yves Saint Croissant on Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28, 2020. Headlining Saturday's celebration is New Orleans-born Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia, with additional entertainment provided throughout the weekend by Australian singer-songwriter Betty Who, singer and American Idol finalist David Hernandez, rising pop star Dorian Electra, teenage hip-hop sensation Kidd Kenn, and Uberlândia-born Brazilian transgender artist Urias.
More than 13 hours of programming will be streamed through SFPride.org as the nation's largest gathering of the LGBTQ+ community and allies goes online for the first time. Further programming details will be announced at a later date and will include speeches from LGBTQ+ elected officials and thought leaders, highlights of the accomplishments of Pride's 2020 Community Grand Marshals and Honorees, conversations, reflections on 50 years of the Pride movement, and more.
"In the wake of the murders of Tony McDade, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, many people asked if Pride would be postponed to honor the movement around the world against police brutality. My response is always the same: Stonewall was started by a Black trans woman. Stonewall was a defense of Black bodies," said San Francisco Pride Board President Carolyn Wysinger. "In honor of this, San Francisco Pride will use this moment to lift up and center our Black LGBTQ+ community members. They are my siblings. Remember, when you solve it for Black people, you solve it for everybody. And you don't have to pivot to center Black people and Black voices if you are already centering and seeing them."
"As we celebrate San Francisco Pride's 50-year milestone, we recognize how much work we have to do in the name of equality and inclusion," adds San Francisco Pride Executive Director Fred Lopez. "While the LGBTQ+ community reflects on what has been accomplished in the last 50 years, we are focused on producing Pride 50 programming that provides inspiration and hope for the future."
For decades, San Francisco Pride's Parade and two-day Celebration have brought hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ revelers and allies to Downtown San Francisco. As 2020 is a historic 50th anniversary, upward of a million people were expected to attend. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has brought these festivities online, an even larger global audience can now experience the celebrations from the world leader in the Pride movement from the safety and comfort of their own homes.
On Friday, June 5, San Francisco Pride hosted Mayor London Breed's LGBTQ+ Pride Kick-off with an online celebration and panel discussion, "Pride in Defense of Black Bodies," moderated by Board President Carolyn Wysinger, featuring the Transgender District Executive Director Aria Sa'id, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Executive Director Imani Rupert-Gordon, and San Francisco Human Rights Commission's Tuquan Harrison. San Francisco Pride contributed $10,000 to the SF Bay Area COVID-19 LGBTQ Relief Fund and $10,000 to The Transgender Cultural District, providing support to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as organizations that serve the Black LGBTQ+ community,
San Francisco Pride will also take part in Global Pride - a 24-hour, live-streamed festival uniting hundreds of Pride organizations from around the world - on Saturday, June 27. Led by Interpride, a collection of Pride organizers around the world, Global Pride will be an opportunity for the more than 350 Prides from around the world that have been cancelled or otherwise affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to share individual messages of support and solidarity.
San Francisco Pride is always a citywide effort, featuring events from supporting organizations and promoters, and this year is no different. SF Pride is glad to help bring awareness to events which are supporting Pride 50, such as Frameline44 Pride Showcase (Thursday-Sunday, June 25-28), Openhouse's LGBTQ+ Senior Prom (Thursday, June 25), the Trans March 2020 (Friday, June 26), Gary Virginia and
Donna Sachet's Pride Brunch 2020 (Saturday, June 27), and Illuminate the Pink Triangle (Saturday, June 27).
