This year’s Dublin Pride Parade has been cancelled. The event was initially postponed until September because of the coronavirus outbreak but organisers have decided to pull the festival entirely.
A virtual parade and concert will take place in June instead. Dublin Pride festival attracted more than a hundred thousand people last year:
In March, Dublin Pride had initially shared plans to postpone the festival until September, with Mother Pride Block Party following suit.
However, with the continuing pandemic and the need for social distancing, it was decided best to put a pause on both events until 2021.
Dublin Pride released the following statement:
“It is with great regret that Dublin LGBT+ Pride has decided to cancel our annual Pride Parade for 2020. Although we had initially postponed the Parade until September, we feel the scale of one of the largest events in the country would place unnecessary pressure on essential frontline services and resources that will have been at full stretch for many months.
“When we chose ‘In This Together’ as our theme for 2020, we knew it was not just a phrase, but a responsibility. A responsibility to act in the best interests of all our communities, to react to changing circumstances and to support our frontline workers.
“Dublin Pride is the largest fundraising event of the year for many LGBT+ community organisations and charities in Ireland. Even though we won’t be together on O’Connell Street we know that won’t stop us all coming together to support our community and the vital services they provide, often to our most vulnerable members.
“So, we’re still going to see you in June, and you’ll definitely see us, as we host the first Digital Dublin Pride Festival with a fully interactive virtual Pride Parade and a Pride Concert. Buildings will still light up for Pride, flags will be flying high across the city and our community will still be there to support each other. Pride isn’t cancelled, we’re just bringing it home.
Please see our latest update on our plans for Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride 2020.
Pride Parade 2020 cancellation and launch of our New Digital Dublin Pride Parade and Festival. https://t.co/xhBw1T9PIi #DublinPride #InThisTogether #StayHome #StaySafe #LGBT #Ireland pic.twitter.com/gNSStOjt75— Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride (@DublinPride) April 29, 2020
