WorldPride, organised by InterPride, is an event that promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT pride) issues on an international level through parades, festivals and other cultural activities. Founded by Paul Stenson. From 2014, the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the event will be held on a five-year cycle. The Inaugural WorldPride was held in Rome in 2000, subsequently the second WorldPride was awarded to Jerusalem in 2006. WorldPride 2012 was awarded to London and coincides with the 19th Annual Europride. The selection of WorldPride 2014 was chosen on October 18, 2009; the two candidates were Toronto and Stockholm, with Toronto winning on the second round of voting.[1] The host cities are selected by InterPride, an international association of pride coordinators, at their Annual General Meeting.[2][3][4][5]
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At the 16th annual conference of InterPride, held in October 1997 in New York City, New York, United States of America, InterPride's membership voted to establish the "WorldPride" title and awarded it to the city of Rome, Italy during 1 July to 9 July 2000. The event was put on by the Italian gay rights group Mario Mieli along with InterPride.
Rome officials had promised to put up US$200,000 for the event, however bowing to ferocious opposition from the Vatican and conservative politicians, Rome's leftist mayor, Francesco Rutelli, on 30 May 2000 withdrew logistical and monetary support. Hours after his announcement, Rutelli mostly reversed himself in response to harsh criticism from the left. He restored the funding and promised to help with permits, but declined to back down on a demand that organizers remove the city logo from promotional materials. The event was staunchly opposed by Pope John Paul II and seen as an infringement on the numerous Catholic Pilgrims visiting Rome for the Catholic Church's Great Jubilee.[6] Pope John Paul II addressed crowds in St. Peter's Square during WorldPride 2000 stating, in regards to the event, that it was an "offense to the Christian values of a city that is so dear to the hearts of Catholics across the world."[7]
The organisers claimed 250,000 people joined in the march to the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus, two of Rome's most famous ancient sites. It was one of the biggest crowds to gather in Rome for decades.[8] Among the scheduled events were conferences, a fashion show, a large parade, a leather dance, and a concert featuring Gloria Gaynor, The Village People, RuPaul and Geri Halliwell.
The 22nd annual conference of InterPride, held in October 2003 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with over 150 delegates from 51 cities from around the world in attendance, voted to accept the bid of the Jerusalem Open House to host WorldPride 2006 in the Holy City.[9]
The first attempt to hold WorldPride in Jerusalem was in 2005, however it was postponed until 2006 because of tensions surrounding Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Officially titled, “Love Without Borders,” as a nod to the many barriers within Israel, and for gays and lesbians in other ways, World Pride was a key project of Jerusalem’s Open House, the city’s gay community centre.[10] From the planned starting point of the march on Ben Yehuda Street, participants could see with the naked eye one of the harshest borders ever constructed: a 25-foot concrete wall, called by Israel the “separation barrier” and known to Palestinians as the Apartheid (or Segregation) Wall.[11]
After Jerusalem was selected as the WorldPride 2006 City, Tel Aviv announced that is was cancelling its own annual Gay Pride in 2006 to make sure that more Israelis attended the main march. As WorldPride started in 2006, the main parade was scheduled for the 6th of August but received harsh objection from Israeli religious circles from the offset. However, due to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Jerusalem's government cancelled the march, saying there were not enough soldiers to protect marchers. A week of events did take place as scheduled and included five conferences, a film festival, exhibitions, and literary and political events.[12] The parade itself was cancelled but the Jerusalem Open House announced that it would hold a parade on November 10 after reaching an agreement with the police and with the municipality.[13]
The 27th annual conference of InterPride, held in October 2008 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, voted to accept the bid of Pride London to host WorldPride 2012 in the capital of the United Kingdom just ahead of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games and during the anticipated year-long celebrations of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Although details of the event are at an early planning stage, a packed itinerary of theatre shows, debates, poetry, music and partying, culminating in the main parade through the streets of the capital, is expected to attract more than 1 million visitors.[14] The two week festivities will most likely take place from 23 June to 8 July 2012, with the main parade held on 7 July.
Pride Toronto, in partnership with Tourism Toronto, submitted a bid to host WorldPride 2014 in Toronto from 27 June to 6 July 2014. The 28th annual conference of InterPride, held in October 2009 in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States of America voted to accept the bid of Pride Toronto to host WorldPride 2014 for the first time in North America. In the first round of voting Toronto won 77 votes compared to Stockholm's 61. In the second and final round of voting Stockholm was eliminated and Toronto won 78% of the vote, fulfilling the 2/3 majority needed to finalize the selection process.[15] WorldPride 2014 in Toronto will include: an opening ceremony; an international human rights conference; a variety of networking and social events including Canada Day and Independence Day (United States) celebrations and an exhibition commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
Pride Toronto officials said that Pride Week 2009 drew an estimated one million people to Toronto and contributed C$136 million to the city's economy, and state that they expect WorldPride to be about five times bigger.[16]