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Madison Square Garden will be lit in rainbow flag colors for the sixth WorldPride, an international celebration of LGBTQ+ equality that begins June 26 and is hosted, for the first time ever, in the United States. (Courtesy NYC & Company)
This year’s WorldPride is being held in New York City in conjunction with a major event in queer history — the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. On June 28, 1969, riots broke out in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, which is now the country’s first national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights.
While NYC & Company, the destination marketing organization for the five boroughs of New York City, already has publicized Pride events for the dual celebration such as citywide Project Rainbow lightings, more activities are in the works.
NYC Pride, the host of WorldPride 2019 | Stonewall 50, begins the official festivities with an opening ceremony June 26 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and a benefit concert hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. Other activities have preceded the opening ceremony, including NYC Pride’s Human Rights Conference, held June 24–25 at New York Law School.
NYC & Company’s convention development team also is hosting its first MICE familiarization trip focused strictly on event planners and decision makers within the LGBTQ+ community. From June 26 to June 29, attendees will stay at host hotel Lotte New York Palace and visit a range of sites.
NYC & Company partnered with Broadway to encourage the estimated 3 million-plus visitors in New York for WorldPride to be “proudly sustainable,” offering Broadway show–themed messages about limiting plastics use, taking public transportation, shopping at local markets, and other sustainability efforts.
Find more details about LGBTQ+ history, ways to volunteer, and more than 50 events celebrating WorldPride 2019 | Stonewall 50.