LGBTQ+ Pride parade returns to Boston on June 8
New England’s largest celebration of the LGBTQ+ community will return to the streets of Boston on June 8, with the annual Pride parade marching through the Back Bay and South End and festivals held on Boston Common and City Hall Plaza, organizers said Monday.
June’s events will mark the second year that volunteer-run Boston Pride for the People has hosted the annual festivities, after the previous organizer dissolved in 2021 amid controversy over what critics said was a lack of transgender and racial inclusion.
More than 1 million people attended last year’s parade, Boston Pride for the People said in a statement.
“That a bunch of passionate people who are doing this work on a volunteer basis can make something big like Boston Pride happen like we did, it was amazing,” Adrianna Boulin, the organization’s president, said in a phone interview Monday. “Last year gave us so much hope and was a mirror for what community can do, and we want to bring people in on that.”
The 2024 parade will begin in Copley Square, with marchers stepping through the South End and ending at Boston Common, where an all-ages festival will offer vendors, food, and musical performances. Meanwhile, a 21plus festival will be held at City Hall Plaza, the organization said.
“We have big goals for this year’s parade. We want to continue growing to be more inclusive and welcome even more community organizations,” Dan Ortega, the parade’s co-chair, said in the statement. “Seeing the streets of Boston bursting with the wide spectrum of LBGTQ+ people is one of the ways our community shows its Pride and its love for Boston as a whole.”
Last year’s parade, the first since 2019, saw an estimated 10,000 marchers cheered on by thousands of members and allies of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community lining the sidewalks.
The annual celebration was nixed in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and in summer 2021, the former Pride Committee announced that it would shut down after critics said its white leadership was insensitive to the concerns of Black, Indigenous, and people of color, as well as transgender community members.
Boston Pride for the People was formed and stepped in to organize a Pop-Up Pride event in lieu of the parade in 2022. In early 2023, the organization announced it would revive the parade with a new focus on reflecting the community’s diverse experiences.