As promised, the world’s largest free-flying Pride flag is up at Venice Beach for Venice Pride weekend. The flag went up this Friday, June 1st. There was a short ceremony at Windward Plaza in L.A. from 8:30am-9:30am. The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles – TCLA, and special guests were at the ceremony.
The flag is set for a 10-City “United We Pride” Tour. L.A.’s Venice Beach neighborhood will host the flag for three days before gifting it to San Francisco to mark the rainbow flag’s 40th anniversary. Throughout 2018 and early 2019 the flag will be passed to different host cities who will display it prominently during their own pride celebrations. The flag’s journey will culminate in New York City in June 2019, as the city commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and plays host to 2019’s World Pride celebration. Venice Pride is the first to host the flag.
Thanks to the generous support of global partner AIDS Healthcare Foundation Venice Price was able to commission to commemorate the first anniversary of the passing of rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker.
The dimensions are not yet known, but it is much larger than the 1,033 square foot flag that took flight in Port Elizabeth, South Africa as part of Nelson Mandela Bay Pride in late 2014, which has been the largest pride flag up until this weekend.
The flag will be gifted to San Francisco to mark the rainbow flag’s 40th anniversary. The flag’s journey will culminate in New York City in June 2019, as the city commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and plays host to 2019’s World Pride celebration.
Will the flag be visiting my city?
The flag is scheduled to tour the following cities:
Los Angeles – June 1-3, 2018
San Francisco – June 23-25, 2018
Paris – June 30, 2018
London – July 7, 2018
Berlin – July 28, 2018
Vancouver – August 5, 2018
Sydney – March 2, 2019
Miami – April 1-7, 2019
Tokyo – April 26-May 5, 2019
New York City – June 14-23, 2019
“As individual Pride festivals we exist separately, this initiative will give us the opportunity to link with global Pride activities over the next couple of years,” Grant Turck, Executive Director, Venice Pride, said in a press release. “Baker’s rainbow flag has stood as the symbol for inclusivity within the LGBT community worldwide, and I’m thrilled that the ‘United We Pride’ flag will begin in Venice Beach as part of Venice Pride 2018.”
The rainbow pride flag was created in 1978 by artist, designer, Vietnam War veteran and then-drag performer, Gilbert Baker. He was commissioned to create a flag by politician Harvey Milk who died later that same year. It was first showcased at San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978. Baker’s flag has become widely associated with LGBT rights causes, a symbol of gay pride that has become ubiquitous in the decades since its debut.
Venice Pride is a nonprofit organization founded to save lives through acceptance and diversity. The mission of the organization is to celebrate the unity of West L.A.’s LGBT community, its friends and supporters through annual events and ongoing outreach that inspires, commemorates and supports diversity with the unique and eclectic spirit that embodies Venice Beach, California. To learn more, visit: venicepride.org
Please follow and like us:
