The InterPride Board, the international association of prides, this week announced its sponsorship support of PRIDE House Whistler. InterPride gives Pride House the political voice and complements other partnerships such as GLISA, The Gay Lesbian International Sports Association, as a wel-rounded pavilion covering the various aspects of our community. This announcement is quite exciting considering that this same weekend, the 2014 World Pride Host was also revealed.

North America’s largest pride event, Toronto Pride, has just been announced as the host of the 2014 World Pride at the annual InterPride conference this past weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“WorldPride 2014 aims to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues on an international level through parades, festivals and other cultural activities. The provisional program for the festival includes an opening ceremony with a parade of nations, an international human rights conference, a wall of remembrance in honour of the 45th anniversary of Stonewall, and an exhibition and networking fair. A gathering of all Pride Toronto's former International Grand Marshals will take place, an AIDS Candlelight vigil will be held, and three parades including a Trans March, a Dyke March and Pride Parade. Cultural events will be scheduled to celebrate Canada Day and the U.S. Independence Day, and a closing ceremony will be held immediately following the Parade.” (News release: Pride Toronto, Oct. 18, 2009)

In response to Toronto being awarded the 2014 InterPride event, Ontario's openly gay deputy premier, George Smitherman, noted that that Toronto’s Pride celebrations have given the city world-wide prominence: “In over 29 years of Pride Week celebrations, the world has taken notice of Toronto as a city that celebrates diversity.” (National Post, Oct. 19, 2009). The Post article also noted that this year’s Pride celebrations held over a 10-day period in June cost about $4 million but drew more than one million people, 750,000 of these tourists to the city, and contributed $136 million to the city's economy.

The 2014 event in Toronto will be the fourth World Pride. The last World Pride was hosted by Jerusalem in 2006. The event suffered from the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Palestine, with the parade cancelled, and the event had been postponed by a year because of the war. The event was not welcomed by Israelis, but organizers remained committed. World Pride 2012 will take place in London, England, which is also hosting the 2012 Olympic Summer Games.

As we get closer to hosting the world at 2010 with the first-ever PRIDE House at an Olympic event and the annual WinterPRIDE festival, you can be sure this and other key events will be promoted at the pavilion. We are so excited to have the international body of InterPride as one of our newest sponsors to help us promote this historic pavilion while also building their brand awareness to the general public. Having this international organization associated with PRIDE House only enhances the overall experience by ensuring we have information on all the various prides around the world and also help liaise with the future Pride Pavilion at London 2012.

For more information on InterPride, visit www.interpride.org