Reenactment of 1965 gay rights protest at White House set for April 17

The final push to collect money and fill the room at the DC hotel is underway at WorldPride 2025, more than a month away.

Capital Pride Alliance, a DC-based group that organizes WorldPride 2025 in the country’s capital, scheduled to take place from May 17th to June 8th, said it was one of several funding campaigns in a full-page ad for the Washington Post on April 1st.

With a big headline declaring “Hate is no joke,” he said, “Decades of advances in human rights are under a coordinated and systematic attack. Today we focus on gender, sexual orientation, and race. But what’s next?”

The message then states:

The site says its goal is to raise $2 million. As of April 14, the site says it had raised $12,041 from 69 donors.

In response to Washington Blade’s request to comment on what prompted this particular funding campaign, the Capital Pride Alliance issued a statement that the campaign is part of an ongoing effort to promote WorldPride and its multiple events.

“Hate is Not Joy The Campaign is one of several fundraising campaigns planned with the focus on lead-up to WorldPride 2025,” the statement said. “As with the CPA’s annual Giving Tuesday campaign and the current Pride City Wide initiative, the campaign is intended to raise awareness and funding to support WorldPride.”

The statement said the “Hate is Not a Joke” campaign is being led by local event planning company Linder’s global events.

Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, told Blade last month that the CPA had budgeted between $15 and $20 million for WorldPride 2025, with much of the fund coming from corporate donors. At the request of Mayor Cowner, the DC Council approved $5 million in urban funding for WorldPride.

“And as we do every year for an organization like our event-based organization, we do our best to come on budget each year,” Boss noted the city’s annual Capital Pride celebration and event. “So we’re doing our best to save as much as we can and ensure safe, successful global pride,” he said.

In a statement in response to Blade’s investigation into hatred, although there is no joke fundraising campaign, the Capital Pride Alliance said it learned through International LGBTQ advocacy organization, which is responsible for organizing WorldPride events.

Among those countries were Canada, Mexico, and several other European, Asia and Africa, including Uganda and Zimbabwe, India, Spain, Italy, the UK, China and Thailand.

Elliott Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, an organization that promotes tourism, visits and events in DC, including events such as WorldPride, said he is seeing signs that hotel bookings are on the rise from visitors to DC, WorldPride. However, he said he cannot predict whether or not there will be more than 2 million visitors, as WorldPride organizers predicted earlier this year.

At the Capital Pride Alliance proposal, Ferguson spoke with Blade to address controversial statements and policy issues regarding world trade issues and tariffs regarding longtime US allies such as Canada and Mexico, as well as longtime US allies with hostile policies targeting the transgender community in which the Trump administration’s hostile policies targeted at the transgender community.

“I don’t really know,” Ferguson told Blade in an interview. “You know, I think it’s a grey area in terms of how many people are coming,” he said.

“But there are reservations being made. We’re seeing an increase,” he told Blade. “And we remain optimistic as WorldPride organizers and Capital Pride organizers are really focused on community celebrations happening in the city,” he said.

Ferguson said he and destination DC will join WorldPride organizers and will issue a message that if people disagree with Trump administration’s policies on LGBTQ-related issues and other issues, WorldPride should come to light to protest those policies.

Capital Pride officials point out that among many events planned for World Pride, there is a national LGBTQ rights march in Washington, starting at the Lincoln Memorial and traveling to the U.S. Capitol.

“There are many surprises and concerns about the many issues that have attracted our attention by many international travelers, including those we are considering coming for World Pride,” Ferguson said.

“What we told them is that you know, that coming globally from a global perspective focusing on freedom of speech and the right to first amendment here in America is a big part of why you should be here,” he added.

“So when I was talking to the hotel, I would have wanted to see the city completely sold out at this point,” he said. “But there’s momentum going on in that reservations are being made and people are coming to Washington.”