Health

2021 Boston Pride Parade postponed, virtual events announced

BOSTON — The 2021 Boston Pride Parade and Festival will not be held as scheduled this summer and organizers say they will instead host a series of virtual events in June, according to information released by Boston Pride and the City of Boston on Friday.

The June 12 event, celebrating Pride Month and the 51st anniversary of Boston Pride, marks the second time the event has been postponed due to the coronavirus. Under the state’s reopening plan, large gatherings are not allowed until Phase 4.

Boston Pride said more information on the virtual events in June will be released in the coming weeks and they are considering holding the Pride Parade and Festival sometime in fall 2021.

“We know that the pandemic has severely impacted the LGBTQ+ community and we are working on virtual events to bring together the community in June,” Boston Pride president Linda DeMarco said in a statement.

“Over the last several months, we have pursued the difficult but necessary work of transformation and we want those efforts to be a central part of our Pride celebrations this year. Our community is concerned about racial equity, the resurgence of white supremacy, the needs of BIPOC members of the LGBTQ+ community, and the dangers that transgender individuals, particularly transgender women of color, face. We are inviting the community to participate in Pride with those concerns in mind.”

Boston Pride said anyone who has already registered and paid for the June event can defer their registration until the fall events are scheduled or email Boston Pride for a refund at parade@bostonpride.org or festival@bostonpride.org.

Several other cancellations for large annual events in 2021 have already been announced, including the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade set for March and the Boston Marathon, usually held in April, which has been pushed to sometime in fall 2021.

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