Ride with Pride!

Beneath an optimistic press release from WorldPride DC organizers, there is a disappointing reality. The forecast for up to 3 million visitors traveling to the area for the event has not been realized.

In fact, a quick look at hotel occupancy rates reveal wide open availability across DC over the weekend of June 6th-9th, with many hotels offering discounted rates.

LGBTQ activists from Europe, Mexico, Canada and other parts of the United States have announced that they have decided not to come to Washington, D.C. for World Pride, due to the hostile and anti-LGBTQ policies of President Donald Trump and his administration. Activists who show they won’t come to WorldPride DC say they are particularly concerned about the Trump administration’s anti-transgender policy.

Destination DC staff member Kyle Deckelbaum, an organization that promotes tourism and large events, has supported WorldPride DC for at least two years, said his group has received different reports of attendance at WorldPride.

He said as of May 21, the latest data shows that hotel reservations for the weekend of the WorldPride opening ceremony from May 30 to June 1 and the weekend of the closing ceremony from June 6-8 are down 3% compared to the same two weekends in 2024.

However, Deckelbaum notes that DC hotels are the only low bookings at 3%, and many WorldPride participants are expected to stay, rather than those of the surrounding Virginia and Maryland counties. He also points out that bookings do not reflect the full “occupying” of hotel rooms, and says that it is often possible for two or more visitors to share hotel rooms.

“The way you look at the hotel booking pace is a type of travel metric, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate occupancy or show attendance,” he said, referring to his overall attendance at WorldPride.

Another factor, Deckelbaum said, is that more hotels have opened in DC since last year, increasing room supply and slightly lower booking rates.

“And there are many factors outside of WorldPride, which tracks occupancy just below last year’s weekend, as international visits are declining,” he said. “It’s all for the US. It’s not DC-specific.”

On the optimistic side, Deckelbaum points out that “surge in positive papers from around the world” has recently appeared in newspapers in countries such as the UK and Canada to support WorldPride DC.

“We’re seeing an increase in OP-ED submissions from international markets explaining why people are coming,” he said.

Last month, Destination DC president and CEO Elliott Ferguson told Blade that he could not predict whether the WorldPride organizers would have more than 2 million visitors, as predicted earlier this year.

“So when I was talking to the hotel, I would have wanted to see the city completely sold out at this point,” he said.

Capital Pride Alliance, a DC-based group that serves as the lead organizer for WorldPride DC, notes that local DC governments have a record of strong support over the years to the LGBTQ community. They also argue that LGBTQ activists should come globally as a form of protest against the Trump administration by joining the planned LGBTQ and alliance march, joining the Washington Alliance Margin for Freedom, taking place on June 8th and taking part in a trip from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol.

Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance, said the group doesn’t believe that media coverage with low hotel reservations predicts the actual number of people at WorldPride DC, despite not providing a prediction of the size of voter turnout.

“The energy and respect for each other were vibrant and continued as other events emerged through Latinx pride and API. [Asian Pacific Islander] This was a huge success this weekend with Pride with DC Black Pride,” he said.

“People understand that this is a historic moment and how important it is for our community to support each other and ensure that all LGBTQ businesses, organizations and social groups come together and that the community will appear,” Bos told Blade in a phone interview on May 27.

“Celebrations are a form of protest,” he said. “So protest is rebellion, resilience, joy, and it’s not just global pride,” the boss continued. “This is to ensure that we can be patient and be resilient in our country and around the world, and that all our pride continues to happen and ensure that we don’t return to our closets.”

He said, “There are 300 events while Capital Privacy Alliance organizes something for everyone to all of the amazing partners in the community and welcomes many who deserve to be seen, so we are excited to be able to experience this structure of freedom, this community, DC, part of the best part of the area to live in.”

A statement released by the organizers of WorldPride DC 2025 on May 27th said the dozens of events, which begin on May 17th and will be held by June 8th, representing “a celebration of LGBTQ+ culture, identity and unity.”

The statement adds that the event “constructs the 50 years of pride in DC with a packed calendar of festivals, sports, concerts and cultural experiences.”

Highlights this week include the launch of the WorldPride Film Festival scheduled for May 27-29, the annual Pride Flag Raise ceremony hosted by the offices of LGBTQ Affairs at DC Muriel Bowser, the LGBTQ Affairs at LGBTQ Affairs set for May 29, and the Capital Cup Sports Festival set for May 30th, June 4th.

As if that wasn’t enough, the organizers’ statement noted that the World Pride Welcome Ceremony and concert held at the Washington Nationals Baseball Stadium on Saturday, May 31, will make welcome remarks by key officials and set the pace for the rest of the world’s events.

But while showing that everything is going according to the plan, the statement doesn’t respond to multiple media reports that there doesn’t seem to be any previous predictions that WorldPride DC will attract 2-3 million visitors.

WorldPride organizers last week announced that actress and trans activists Laverne Cox, Powerhouse Performer Reneé Rapp and LGBTQ Trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as the grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade set on June 7th.

“It’s an honor to be one of WorldPride’s Grand Marshalls this year, one of the most challenging times in world history for queer and trans people,” Cox said. “But in the face of all rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we will continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, in order to celebrate our beauty, resilience and courage as a community.

“Pride is everything. It’s protection, visibility, crossover. But most importantly, it’s celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.