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After Trump took over the Kennedy Center, the institution cancelled all WorldPride events.
The worldwide LGBTQ+ celebration begins on May 17.
WorldPride 2025 organizers in Washington, D.C., have been forced to relocate multiple landmark LGBTQ+ events from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts following President Donald Trump’s unilateral takeover of the storied institution earlier this year.
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The Capital Pride Alliance confirmed that its Tapestry of Pride programming — originally scheduled to feature portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a reading room, and a family-friendly drag story time at the Kennedy Center — will now be held at the WorldPride Welcome Center in downtown D.C. The Associated Press first reported the news.
Related: WorldPride 2025 expects huge ‘visibility’ march & rally in D.C. amid Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ agenda
In an interview earlier this year, Capital Pride Alliance executive director Ryan Bos told The Advocatehis organization had engaged in contingency planning amid concerns about the Kennedy Center’s direction under Trump-installed leadership. That foresight has proven critical.
“We are a resilient community, and we have found other avenues to celebrate,” June Crenshaw, the alliance’s deputy director, said in a statement. “But the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing.”
WorldPride, scheduled to begin May 17 and run through June 8, is expected to bring between 2 million and 3 million visitors to the nation’s capital. Headline performances will include Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Troye Sivan, Doechii, and Cynthia Erivo.
Trump’s February move to fire Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, oust the bipartisan board of trustees, and replace it with political loyalists — including Second Lady Usha Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino — fundamentally changed the Kennedy Center’s leadership structure. Trump then appointed himself chairman and tapped Richard Grenell, the gay former ambassador to Germany turned MAGA operative with no arts management experience, as its executive director, a position that did not previously exist.
Related: Kennedy Center cancels Gay Men’s Chorus of D.C. WorldPride show about acceptance, group confirms
In a February Truth Social post, Trump promised “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA,” framing his changes as part of a “GOLDEN AGE of American Arts and Culture.”
Within days, LGBTQ+ events tied to WorldPride began disappearing from the Kennedy Center’s calendar, as The Advocate reported. The International Pride Orchestra’s planned June 5 concert was among the first to be canceled.
Michael Roest, the orchestra’s founder and director, told the Associated Press he was in the final planning stages when communication from the Kennedy Center abruptly ceased. Roest said he received a terse, one-sentence email on February 12: “We are no longer able to advance your contract at this time.” The performance has since been relocated to the Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland.
The National Symphony Orchestra’s concert A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride was also quietly removed from the Kennedy Center’s website and ticketing system, as previously reported by The Advocate. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., which was slated to perform alongside the NSO, confirmed the cancellation in a statement.
“We believe in the power of music to educate and uplift, to foster love, understanding, and community, and we regret that this opportunity has been taken away,” chorus representatives said.
Related: Kennedy Center cancels Gay Men’s Chorus of D.C. WorldPride show about acceptance, group confirms
Author Tyler Curry-McGrath, whose children’s book inspired the musical, told The Advocate the cancellation was a direct attack on LGBTQ+ visibility. “It’s ironic that a story about bullying is being bullied out of the Kennedy Center by the president of the United States,” he said.
While longtime National Symphony Orchestra member Jeffrey Weisner claimed the decision to pull Peacock Among Pigeons predated Trump’s takeover — citing financial and scheduling reasons in a Facebook post — LGBTQ+ advocates and performers said the broader pattern of cancellations clearly targeted Pride-related programming.
Hundreds of LGBTQ+ activists drag performers, and allies protested outside the Kennedy Center in recent months, decrying what many called an anti-LGBTQ+ cultural purge. Artists, including Issa Rae and Low Cut Connie, canceled upcoming performances at the venue, and musicians with the NSO have authorized a strike vote.
Corporate and international fallout has followed. Canada’s largest LGBTQ+ rights organization, Egale Canada, withdrew from WorldPride 2025, citing safety concerns, while major sponsor Booz Allen Hamilton pulled its financial support after the Trump administration dismantled federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Other sponsors, such as grocery retailer Wegmans, remain committed.
As the cancellations mounted, so did concern for the safety of attendees, particularly transgender, nonbinary, and intersex travelers.
Earlier this month, Capital Pride Alliance released guidance warning international visitors — especially those whose passports or documentation may not align with Trump administration mandates — to assess potential risks before traveling. As The Advocate reported, WorldPride organizers emphasized that visibility and resilience must be balanced with preparation.
“WorldPride is happening at a pivotal time,” the group said. “We recommend that travelers considering entry to the United States make an informed decision based on the potential risks involved.”
The warning follows the Trump administration’s new immigration rules requiring all visa applicants to declare their sex assigned at birth, banning X-gender marker passports, and instructing U.S. consulates to scrutinize travelers whose gender presentation appears not to match documentation.
Related: What does WorldPride's travel warning mean for transgender & nonbinary people?
Several countries, including Germany, Ireland, Finland, and the Netherlands, have issued travel advisories warning transgender and nonbinary citizens about visiting the United States for WorldPride.
Dr. Elijah Nicholas, lead strategy director for the National Trans Visibility March, told The Advocate the warning is about empowerment, not fear. “This year’s march is more than symbolic. This is a strategic, pivotal moment,” Nicholas said. “We’re convening at a time when our rights are under attack.”
Bos also suggested to The Advocate that D.C.’s WorldPride events — including a major June 8 march from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol — now carry an even more profound significance. “Pride has always been a protest,” he said. “Doing this anyway, in the face of all this, is the most powerful thing we can do.”
Editor's note: A previous headline inaccurately stated that the Kennedy Center canceled all WorldPride events.
