LIVE VIDEO: WorldPride 2025 Parade Kicks Off In DC

The New York Times reports:

Even before Washington was formally chosen as this year’s host city for one of the largest L.G.B.T.Q. pride events in the world, “the election was the biggest question,” said Ryan Bos, the executive director of Capital Pride Alliance.

At the time, the 2024 election was still two years away, but international Pride groups were nervously asking: What would it be like to hold the event, WorldPride, in the U.S. capital if there were an administration in the White House that sought to limit the rights of L.G.B.T.Q. communities?

In many ways, WorldPride has unfolded as the global celebration it is meant to be. D.C. is festooned with rainbow flags, and scores of music performances, art shows, sports events, conferences and house parties have been taking place across the city, with concerts and a music festival this weekend as well as a big parade scheduled on Saturday and a rally and march on Sunday. But since he returned to the White House, President Trump has loomed over it all.

The Washington Post reports:

The parade will kick off at 2 p.m. at the intersection of 14th and T streets with a ceremony led by Indigenous residents in the D.C. area. Actresses Laverne Cox and Reneé Rapp will act as grand marshals, along with Deacon Maccubbin — an activist who organized D.C.’s first Pride celebration 50 years ago.

In an abrupt about-face, federal officials Saturday will reopen Dupont Circle Park to the public, following days of intense criticism and confusion over the decision to close the park at the center of the District’s historic LGBTQ community during Pride weekend.

Workers began to remove the no-climb fence paneling encircling the park Saturday, mere hours before the WorldPride parade was set to kick off in D.C. The fence, which had fully blocked off Dupont Circle Park on Friday, would be moved to just enclose the fountain at its center.

For those keeping track, that’s the third reversal about Dupont Circle. Prior to Trump’s election, organizers had expected around three million to attend WorldPride, but some international LGBTQ groups said months ago that they wouldn’t attend due to fears about their visas and due to the Trump administration’s treatment of trans people. At this writing, Dykes On Bikes are lining up and revving their engines!

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