WorldPride 2014 is coming to Toronto, June 20 - 29. Tourism Toronto marks this historic occasion by premiering “What Pride Means to Us: WorldPride 2014 Toronto."
Told from a personal perspective, the video is an invitation – to rise
up, to celebrate, to contribute, and to inspire. Featuring LGBTTIQQ2SA
activists, including: Laverne Cox, star of ‘Orange is the New Black’;
community leaders such as Justice Harvey Brownstone, who presided over
the marriage between Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer; and community
members, it shares their unique viewpoint with Pride. Windsor and
Brownstone will also join other leading international activists,
artists, educators, journalists, and policymakers as presenters at the
Human Rights Conference during this unprecedented gathering.
“We always hear from our LGBTQ visitors how welcoming, surprising, and
exciting Toronto is, which makes it the ideal host for the first
WorldPride to be held in North America. It’s a chance for people from
every corner of the planet to celebrate what has been achieved and
strengthen their resolve for the future – in a multicultural city that
wears its commitment to equality, openness, and diversity with pride
every day,” said Kevin Beaulieu, Executive Director of Pride Toronto.
Already home to one of the first same-sex legal marriages in modern
times, to one of the world’s largest Pride parades, and renowned for its
diversity and dynamism, this ten-day extravaganza will turn the city’s
streets into parades, parks in to parties and strangers into friends.
Headliners in a jam-packed free entertainment program
that will be presented on 10 open-air stages, include artists Melissa
Etheridge, Tegan and Sara, k.d. lang, Martha Wash, Carly Rae Jepsen, and
Chely Wright.
Between June 20 and 29,
more than a million people from around the globe are expected to gather
downtown and in neighborhoods throughout the city to take part in what
promises to be an unforgettable celebration of LGBTTIQQ2SA pride.
“At Toronto’s core is its open embrace of all cultures, ethnicities, and
communities. We have a long history of a progressive human rights
agenda, which is now culminating in celebrating WorldPride 2014. We hope
this video will give everyone a taste as to why Toronto will be the
place to be this June, to join everyone who is committed to advancing
LGBTTIQQ2SA rights around the world help advance this movement in a
truly meaningful way,” said Joel Peters, Senior Vice President and Chief
Marketing Officer of Tourism Toronto.
WorldPride at a Glance:
Opening Ceremony – June 20
WorldPride Gala and Awards – June 25
WorldPride Human Rights Conference – June 25-27
Trans Pride – June 27
Dyke March – June 28
WorldPride Parade – June 29
For more information about WorldPride 2014, please visit:VisitTorontoforPride.com.
