Celebrating LGBT Pride During the Coronavirus Outbreak

This June, Cathy Renna was looking forward to what she calls one of the “highlights” of NYC Pride: a double-decker bus sponsored by SAGE, the country's leading organization for LGBT elders, that carries older adults along the parade's Manhattan route each year.

But the iconic red bus, which first hit the streets as a horse-drawn “SAGE coach” some 40 years ago, won't appear at this year's parade, which typically draws millions to the city every June as part of a month-long celebration of the LGBT community.

That's because NYC Pride is among the hundreds of Pride parades and events that have been canceled or postponed in light of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, organizers across the country have had just a few months to overhaul their plans in a way that's safe and celebratory for all.

"New York City being one of the pandemic epicenters in the United States, they very quickly started planning ahead once it became evident that it was going to be impossible — in fact, not allowed — to have the events they normally do,” says Renna, the interim communications director of the National LGBTQ Task Force.

The new roster of NYC Pride events includes a special television broadcast on June 28 cohosted by Carson Kressley and featuring celebrity appearances and performances by Janelle Monáe, Deborah Cox, and Billy Porter, among others. (Watch it live from 12-2 p.m. ET on local station WABC Channel 7 or online at abc7ny.com.)

Heritage of Pride, the nonprofit organization behind NYC Pride, is expected to announce more virtual events in the weeks to come.

Despite the promise of digital events, Pride organizers say that having to cancel in-person celebrations has been bittersweet, particularly because this year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Pride parades, which were held in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles in 1970.

"We had a bit of a mourning period,” says Fred Lopez, executive director of San Francisco Pride. Lopez and his team decided to call off the city's iconic parade and other pride events as the news of the virus's spread became increasingly serious in March.

San Francisco Pride will now take place virtually, with a two-day online celebration and rally on June 27 and 28 featuring live performances, messages from elected officials and celebrities, speeches, DJ sets and more.