On the day the LA Pride parade would have taken place in June 2020, tens of thousands of people instead took to the streets for the All Black Lives Matter march. In recent years, Christopher Street West - named after the New York City street on which the Stonewall Inn stands - has been criticized as too white, too corporate and dismissive of transgender and nonbinary people. In July 2020, Christopher Street West announced that it was leaving West Hollywood after more than four decades in the iconic LGBTQ-friendly city. The location for the 2022 parade will be announced at a later date, organizers said. In-person LA Pride events were scrapped in the summer of 2020 and replaced by a televised and livestreamed “virtual parade” during what was to have been the parade’s 50th anniversary celebration.
The massive street parade, one of the nation’s oldest and largest LGBTQ celebrations, draws hundreds of thousands of spectators each summer. LA Pride 2022 will take place June 10-12, and will include a music event, organizers said. “It’s such a personal gathering of the community, and it means so much to come together in person in such a large capacity.” “We know the SoCal LGBTQ+ community has missed this annual moment, so we’re absolutely delighted to plan on bringing it back after a two-year hiatus,” said Sharon-Franklin Brown, board president of Christopher Street West, the nonprofit organization that produces LA Pride.
The announcement comes as large-scale events - including this weekend’s Los Angeles Marathon, the Rose Parade, and Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers games with fans in the stands - are making a comeback. After a two-year hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, LA Pride will host an in-person parade in summer 2022, organizers said Friday.