October 19, 2009
Toronto Gets World Pride in 2014
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Toronto has been selected as the host city for the 2014 edition of World Pride.
The choice was made at a Florida meeting of the Inter-Pride Conference on Oct. 18, reported the National Post in an Oct. 19 article.
Toronto organizers were optimistic that the event would mean an infusion of cash into the local economy. The article quoted Crystal Moore, the spokesperson for Pride Toronto, as saying, "A festival of this nature will bring Pride contingents from the world over."
Moore hinted at large crowds heading to the Canadian city. "There's no telling just how many will flock to the city for World Pride in 2014," she said.
If the past is any indication, such optimism may be warranted. The article cited Toronto organizers as noting that the 2008 Pride Week in Toronto cost $4 to mount, but drew $136 million into the area's economy.
World Pride celebrates LGBT individuals and culture, including global equality issues, the article noted. Among other things, the World Pride 2014 will include a candlelight vigil for HIV/AIDS awareness and a conference on human rights.
Moore anticipated intangible benefits along with economic ones, the article said. "World Pride 2014 will transform our local pride and community spirit, while generating a positive impact on our economy, our tourism and commercial industry, and our physical and social community," Moore was quoted as saying.
Openly gay Ontario Deputy Premier George Smitherman spoke to the sity's status as a world-class GLBT destination. "In over 29 years of Pride Week celebrations, the world has taken notice of Toronto as a city that celebrates diversity," the article quoted Smitherman as saying.
The choice was down to Toronto or Stockholm. Toronto carried the day, with more than three-quarters of the votes being cast naming the Canadian city as the host for the 2014.
As befits its name, World Pride has taken place in cities around the globe, with the inaugural event, in 2000, being hosted by Rome, the article noted.
London will serve as the next host city, in 2012.
Two years later, Toronto will take up the mantle, with World Pride expected to more or less coincide with Toronto's Pride Week that year.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
