Pride Week 2020 goes ahead despite COVID-19

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Pride Week 2020 in Vancouver will take place virtually this year because of COVID-19, with the goal to uplift marginalized communities amid the pandemic.

Pride started Monday with a proclamation ceremony at Vancouver City Hall to raise the Pride and Progress flags.

Four two-spirit flags representing the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples and the Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society, along with the trans and Pride flags, will also be flown during Pride Week at 12th Avenue and Cambie Street.

#PrideWeek cannot be cancelled, just re-imagined. This year, @vancouverpride celebrations will be happening online.
Join us for our annual Pride proclamation and City Hall flag raising on Monday at 11:30am: https://t.co/0eJuirv52D#VanVirtualPride #VanPride pic.twitter.com/ZdQZHV0AsX

— City of Vancouver (@CityofVancouver) July 26, 2020

Mayor Kennedy Stewart, the Vancouver Pride Society, and other dignitaries hosted the proclamation of
Pride Week 2020 in Vancouver, which was live-streamed on the Pride Society’s YouTube channel.

“We are proud to host a virtual pride celebration and to open our city and our hearts to a digital lineup of events that recognizes the quality, diversity, and the unique contributions of the 2SLGBTQ+ community to our city,” Stewart said.

“Pride week in Vancouver stands as a proud symbol of the remarkable progress we’ve made towards ensuring acceptance, safety, and equal rights for all citizens of Vancouver.”

Catherine Jenkins, Co-Chair of the Vancouver Pride Society said the pandemic has hit the 2SLGBTQ+  community particularly hard.

“A lot of folks that were already marganizaled have faced increased barriers in participation in society. A lot of folks that were socially isolated before are even more socially isolated now,” she added.

Other events have been modified due to the pandemic and will be held virtually — all live-streamed on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, or a combination of those — including Sunday’s Pride Parade.

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Six 2SLGBTQ+ couples were also to be getting married in separate, physically distanced ceremonies as part of the city hall micro-weddings program.

The weddings have been sponsored, in part, by the Vancouver Pride Society, according to the city.