Under normal circumstances, Pride Month is an extremely expressive time, and late June sees a slew of parades and parties celebrating LGBTQ+ communities.
5 ways to celebrate Pride Month virtually
However, under present circumstances, almost every Pride event has been cancelled – part of the global cull of mass gatherings that has claimed everything from music festivals to sports.
But Pride will still march this year – just under virtual banners. Here's how to observe Pride Month – without leaving your front room…
Exactly what it says on the tin, Global Pride is a worldwide celebration of all things LGBTQ+ scheduled for June 27 on a computer screen near you. A 24-hour live stream will feature musical performances and addresses by public figures, curated by a consortium of international Pride organisations.
The final line-up is still TBC, but organisers have confirmed appearances from singer-songwriter Ava Max, Grease alum Olivia Newton-John, and joint first-ever Native American woman elected to Congress Sharice Davids.
Dublin knows how to throw a party – in whatever format. The Digital Dublin Pride Festival is set to run for a full 10 days, starting on June 18, complete with online quizzes, pet parades, movie nights, and live music, alongside more solemn events like soapbox sessions and mental health workshops.
The traditional Dublin parade has gone online like all the others, but organisers are determined to turn the city rainbow-coloured for real. Buildings will light up and flags will still fly, in part to mark five years since Ireland legalised gay marriage.
Not so much an event as a repository for LGBTQ+ history, Virtually Queer is an online oral archive set up by Queer Britain – a charity devoted to establishing the UK's first national LGBTQ+ museum. Four selected 20 minute films are free to watch, and the time capsule-like entries explore an array of LGBTQ+ experiences such as activism and the process of coming out.
LGBTQ+ viewers may also wish to contribute to the charity's Queer Pandemic project, chronicling the lives and hardships of LGBTQ+ communities during Covid-19. The collected stories will become the next chapter of Virtually Queer.
The first and probably still foremost of the world's many Pride marches, it will take more than a paltry pandemic to stop New York Pride from flying the flag. This year's parade was set to be particularly poignant, as it's 50 years since the first marchers strode up Sixth Avenue, a year on from the Stonewall Riots.
Online events will range from the serious to the spectacular, with human rights conferences walking hand in glove with drag fests. On June 28 the festivities culminate with a 'special broadcast event', featuring Janelle Monáe, Deborah Cox, Billy Porter, Luísa Sonza and many more.
Overseen by Amnesty International, in conjunction with UK Black Pride, Stonewall, and ParaPride, Pride Inside will span June 28 to July 5, following on from the Global Pride festivities on June 27.
It's successor in time and tone, attendees can expect a series of online performances by LGBTQ+ comedians, DJs, singers, and performers raising awareness of the ways in which global LGBTQ+ communities have been suffering during the outbreak of Covid-19.