COVID-19 Restrictions Force WorldPride To Downscale Copenhagen 2021

WorldPride in Copenhagen (Denmark) and Malmö (Sweden) is just two months away, but with Covid-19 restrictions and limitations yet to ease in both countries, organisers have been forced to downscale events for ethical reasons.

With a slower vaccine roll out than first anticipated, WorldPride organizers have deemed it irresponsible to go ahead with the events in-person on the same scale as planned.

At a press briefing on Thursday, organisers explained how the events between the August 11 and 22, will take place and what has changed.

 “We have worked very hard and have been forced to make changes, but we stand firm not to cancel anything and rather find alternative ways to go ahead with the events,” said Steve Taylor, WorldPride’s Director of Communications & Marketing, at the press briefing.

The 11-day-long celebration was expected to attract up to 1 million visitors. However, with limitations on international travel to both countries, the organization expects a drastic decrease in participants than first anticipated.

All events remain in-person but will be moved to venues where the number of participants can be monitored and downscaled while digital access will be available to those unable to participate in-person. The Human Rights Forum and EuroGames are unaffected by the changes.

Protest Walks To Replace The Pride Parade 

Although WorldPride refuses to cancel anything, it announced that its largest event, the Pride parade, would be subject to change. Since Covid-19 restrictions do not apply to political protests in Denmark, WorldPride will substitute the original Pride parade with several smaller protest walks.

“Restrictions can’t stop our visibility or our activism,” WorldPride writes on their website in connection to the changes.

The annual Copenhagen Pride Parade usually gathers around 35,000 participants and 300,000 spectators. For WorldPride, a maximum allowance of 100 participants for each walking group is allocated, leaving the parade itself to be downsized and strewn throughout the day. The traditional kilometre-long party with trucks, an endless amount of glitter, and music will therefore be completely reworked.

“After five years of planning, we are of course disappointed to have to make the decision to scale back some of our events. But the safety of everyone has to be our highest priority, and we have worked with our safety company RF Experience to create a meaningful and safe WorldPride and EuroGames experience for everyone”, said Benjamin Hansen, WorldPride’s Executive Managing Director.