LIMERICK Pride 2020 organisers have announced this year’s festival will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual event, that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community in Limerick and globally, which usually fills Limerick City’s streets with a burst of colour and atmosphere in July will not hold its festival online and is asking people to get involved in the series of events running from Monday, July 6, to Sunday, July 11.
Richard Lynch PRO of Limerick Pride noted Limerick Pride 2019 “ended up becoming Limerick’s largest pride parade ever” but that the hopes to top last year’s festival “were crushed when news of the festival’s cancellation came to light once the Covid-19 outbreak began”.
He said, “To take the place of a physical festival set in Limerick, an online, virtual Limerick Pride 2020 will work as a substitute for this year’s celebrations.”
Starting on Monday, July 6, people from all over will be tuning in to the online Limerick Pride 2020 festival for a weeklong schedule of online events. Limerick Pride 2020 will be a lovely celebration and acknowledgement of Pride with Limerick events taking place online from July 6 until Sunday, July 12 and a virtual Pride Parade taking place on Saturday, July 11.
On Saturday, July 11 the virtual Limerick Pride Parade will take place as the first event of Pride Inside, an online Pride festival happening from July 11 to 19 which involves communities coming together from across Ireland.
Devised by Kerry Pride, Pride Inside is a collaboration between Kerry Pride, Killarney Pride, Black Pride Ireland, Galway Pride, Limerick Pride, and Mayo Pride.
The events happening online throughout the week of Pride Inside will include panel discussions, watch parties, quizzes, and live music.
Black Pride Ireland was one of the prominent organisers of the Dublin Black Lives Matter protest on Saturday, June 6.The Limerick Pride organisers said, “Now with this organisation participating, we can demonstrate how unity and strength will bring people of all races, sexualities, genders and walks of life together”.
Lisa Daly, Chairperson and Festival Director of Limerick Pride commented on the collaboration with Pride Inside, saying, “We are delighted to be working with Kerry Pride, Killarney Pride, Black Pride Ireland, Galway Pride, and Mayo Pride for Pride Inside. Our virtual Limerick Pride Parade on Saturday, July 11 will be the opening event of Pride Inside. Pride Inside is an opportunity to be able to celebrate all that makes our community so resilient, so rich with diversity and to support each other during these difficult times. While also reaching those living in rural communities.”
“It is so hard to connect to family, especially found-family and our LGBT+ community at this time so we hope that by coming together for the first time in history, all these Prides will bring a sense of belonging to any LGBT+ person and our supporters in Ireland and beyond. Limerick Pride will be holding our own virtual pride from July 6 -12 with our virtual parade on Saturday 11 as part of Pride Inside. We are looking for people to submit content to be included in our virtual pride such as performances on video, rainbow drawings or art, photos of themselves with family and pets or videos wishing Limerick a Happy Pride. Send all content to [email protected] by June 30 at the latest! We hope you can join us,” Lisa added. Find out more about the different events on Limerick Pride’s social media or visit LimerickPride.ie.
