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WorldPride 2025 billboard on NYC Transit
WorldPride was still a celebration of resilience in the face of hostility, organizers say.
WorldPride 2025, held in Washington, D.C., in May and June, fell short of expectations for attendance and economic impact but Donald Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ and especially anti-transgender policies most likely kept people away.
Still, organizers are hailing the 23-day festival as a celebration of resilience in the face of hostility.
“Nothing could have fully prepared us for the magnitude of fear and uncertainty that gripped our community after the inauguration,” Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, which put on the event, wrote in a report issued Tuesday. “Personally, I felt the weight of depression settle in as the political attacks continued to dehumanize the LGBTQ+ community and spur hate, impacting our everyday lives.”
Related: WorldPride 2025: A global get-together in photos
“Yet in that struggle, we were defiant, showed our resilience, and ability to protest with radical joy,” Bos continued. “We knew, unequivocally, that meeting this moment mattered more than ever and we were determined to have our voices heard, remain visible, and showcase the rich fabric that represents the District of Columbia.”
Several overseas LGBTQ+ groups urged a boycott of the event, and WorldPride DC organizers lost half their funding due to corporate pullbacks. For instance, Booz Allen Hamilton, a defense contractor, withdrew its sponsorship of WorldPride because of Trump’s executive order against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The company’s leaders feared they would lose government business by sponsoring an LGBTQ+ event.
Related: This year, WorldPride in the nation’s capital is a protest
WorldPride drew 1.2 million attendees, the report notes. It does not compare this figure to what was expected, but The Washington Post reports that this was less than half of that projected. The event generated $310 million in spending in and around D.C., according to the report, but the Post says this was “far below expectations.”
Still, WorldPride was able to make $1.4 million in grants to community organizations, Bos wrote.
At an event for the report’s release Tuesday night, he and others said WorldPride had an impact beyond economics. The report “talks about not just the economic impact but also social and educational impact that our community was able to have,” Bos told the Washington Blade.
Related: WorldPride DC 2025: A global celebration of queer power & progress
To the Post, Nina Albert, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said the city expected more attendees, “but the reality is that given the circumstances, I think we did OK.”
“I think the most important thing is that folks came together in celebration,” she added. “We put on a great show.”
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