InterPride is the international organization that brings together Pride organizers from across the World to network, share knowledge, and maximize impact. To this end, Pride organizers design InterPride's structure, programs, and initiatives, to better support them at the local, regional, and global levels. InterPride also owns the label WorldPride, which the membership licenses to a member organization through a direct vote.
History
InterPride was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Texas in the 1980s. The organization was originally known as the National Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators (NAL/GPC), before changing the name to International Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators (IAL/GPC) in October 1985, the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Coordinators at the conference in West Hollywood, California, and eventually to InterPride in the late 1990s.
Formation of InterPride In April 1981, Pride Coordinators Rick Turner and Marsha H. Levine, from San Francisco and Boston respectively, met at a "call to unite" for a gay and lesbian leadership conference in Los Angeles, to start an organization then known as NOLAG (National Organization of Lesbians and Gays). While discussing common issues that their individual Pride organizations faced, and remarking that their connections with the New York Pride and Los Angeles Pride committees were helpful for problem-solving, Rick and Marsha felt this trading of information was important and could develop into a potential network.
More than a year later in August 1982, Levine sent out a call for the First Annual Conference of the National Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators (NAL/GPC), to meet in Boston. Rick Turner (now deceased) declined joining in establishing the organization, due to his deteriorating health. With the aid of San Diego Pride Committee chairperson Doug Moore, who had been collecting a list of national pride organizations, and with small donations from the Los Angeles and Boston Pride Committees, the mailing list from Moore was used to distribute a self-mailing registration form designed and produced by Levine. Though many committees expressed an interest in attending, most didn't have the funds to send delegates at that time.
On October 9, 1982, in Hill House on Beacon Hill, members from the Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco Pride committees gathered in response to Levine's mailing. Three long tables were pushed together to make a triangular seating area. For two days many topics concerning coordinating LGBT prides was discussed, and while each city had different events, they discovered much of the planning and logistics was surprisingly similar. They voted to hold a second conference in San Diego the next year.
Milestones DateMilestoneOctober 1985 During the organization's conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with representatives of Toronto, Ontario, and Germany in attendance, the membership voted to officially change the organization's name from the National Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators, to the International Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators (IAL/GPC). The organization also pledged to continue reaching out to other countries.October 1997 During the organization's conference in New York, its membership voted to establish the "WorldPride" title and awarded it to the city of Rome, Italy, for the year 2000.October 1999 The first conference held outside North America, in Glasgow, Scotland.October 2001 The first conference held in the Southern Hemisphere, in Auckland, New Zealand. Delegates were welcomed by the New Zealand Prime Minister.October 2003 The first conference held in a city that did not use English as its primary language, in Montreal, Quebec. The conference itself was still conducted in English.October 2004 The 22nd annual InterPride conference and the first conference held in a non-English speaking country, in Reykjavík, Iceland.May 2005 The second WorldPride was postponed until August 2006, due to military and religious unrest in the region.June 2019 Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019 included Human Rights conference, festival and Pride March with 150,000 pre-registered participants among 695 groups. June 2020 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, co-produced Global Pride, reached more than 200 million people globally, thanks to coverage around the world, including in global titles Time Magazine, Forbes.October 2022 The first ever General Meeting & World Conference in Latin America takes place in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Membership As of October 26, 2022, InterPride includes 338 member organizations from 70 countries.
Annual General Meeting & World Conference During the last three decades, pride organizations from almost every continent have participated in InterPride's annual world conference.
The conference is held each year in a different city, with the location of upcoming conferences being voted on two years prior to their occurrence. To demonstrate a commitment to support and empower the global LGBTI+ Pride community, the conference is now frequently held outside North America. Scholarships, through the Pamela O'Brien Memorial Scholarship Fund, are available for member organizations that cannot afford to attend. O'Brien was a longtime member of Cape Cod Pride in Massachusetts, US and served InterPride as a Regional Director and Vice President of Operations.
In addition, several regional Pride networks hold their own conferences independent of InterPride.
+ World Conference and General MeetingsYearHost countryHost cityHost organization(s)Theme1982BostonBoston Priderowspan="2" 1983San DiegoSan Diego Pride1984WichitaWichita PrideUnity & More in '841985Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale PrideAlive with Pride in '851986San FranciscoSan Francisco PrideForward Together1987BaltimoreBaltimore PrideProud, Strong, United1988St. LouisPride St. LouisRightfully Proud1989VancouverVancouver Pride SocietyStonewall 20 – A Generation of Pride1990MinneapolisTwin Cities PrideLook to the Future1991BostonBoston PrideTogether in Pride1992Long BeachLong Beach PridePride = Power1993HoustonHouston PrideA Family of Pride1994Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale PrideStonewall 25 – A Global Celebration of Lesbian & Gay Pride & Protest1995PhoenixPhoenix PridePride – From Silence to Celebration1996Kansas CityKansas City PridePride Without Borders1997New York CityNYC PrideEquality Through Visibility1998West HollywoodWest Hollywood PrideUnity Through Diversity1999GlasgowGlasgow PridePrideful Past, Powerful Future2000AtlantaAtlanta PrideTake Pride, Take Joy, Take Action2001AucklandAuckland PrideEmbrace Diversity2002San FranciscoSan Francisco PridePride Worldwide2003MontrealFierté MontréalPeace Through Pride2004ReykjavíkReykjavik PrideVive La Difference2005MinneapolisTwin Cities PrideEqual Rights. No More. No Less.2006PortlandPortland PridePride – Not Prejudice2007ZürichZurich PrideUnited For Equality2008VancouverVancouver Pride SocietyLive Love Be2009St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg PrideYour Rights, Our Rights, Human Rights2010Long BeachLong Beach PrideOne Heart, One World, One Pride2011BrusselsBrussels PridePride Around the World2012BostonBoston PridePride Links Us Together2013MontrealFierté MontréalPride 3652014PittsburghPittsburgh PrideReflections of Pride – Stonewall 452015Las VegasLas Vegas PrideColor Our World with Pride2016MontpellierMontpellier PrideSolidarity Through Pride2017IndianapolisIndianapolis PrideViva la Vida2018SaskatoonSaskatoon PrideRemember the Past, Create the Future2019AthensAthens PrideMillions of Moments of Pride2020OsloOslo PrideExist. Persist. Resist.2021Hosted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic#YouAreIncluded2022GuadalajaraGuadalajara PrideFrom Silence to Solidarity Del Silencio a la Solidaridad Do Silêncio à Solidariedade Du Silence à la solidarité 2023San DiegoSan Diego Priderowspan="5" 2024MedellínCorporación Stonewall2025Hosted online to "increase language justice and accessibility globally"2026Phuket2027Rome
WorldPride
WorldPride, licensed by InterPride and organized by one of its members, is an event that promotes visibility and awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT pride) issues on an international level. WorldPride includes pride parades and/or marches (which may either coincide with the host city's existing pride parade or a separate parade organized specifically for the event), an LGBT human rights conference, arts and culture festivals, and other activities.
At the 1997 InterPride General Meeting and World Conference in New York City, InterPride members voted to award the inaugural WorldPride to be held in Rome, Italy in 2000. Since then, host cities of WorldPride were selected by the members of InterPride during the General Meeting and World Conference, with WorldPride events usually being held every two years. Due to its scale and the bidding process in selecting the event's host city, WorldPride was colloquially referred to as "the gay Olympics" by several media outlets.