Official City of Long Beach Statement Regarding the Events this Weekend in Long Beach to Celebrate Pride

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PRESS RELEASE

This weekend is one of the busiest in the City of Long Beach as the community celebrates Pride and the LGBTQ+ community. Long Beach is proud to host the Pride Parade, which will occur as promised this year, and will feature 141 entries-the most in City history. Many Long Beach bars, restaurants and businesses will be fully activated, and the City has permitted five special events to activate additional spaces. Information on all that is happening this weekend in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community can be found at visitlongbeach.com/events/annual-events/long-beach-pride, which will be updated throughout the weekend. The City encourages everyone to have fun and celebrate safely.

Unfortunately, one event, the Long Beach Pride Festival, will not be able to take place this year as sufficient information to safely permit the event has not been made available by the event organizers. To accommodate those coming into town for that event, Long Beach will add additional transit options to connect downtown locations to the Bixby Park area so that there are many options available to celebrate in Long Beach. More information regarding these additional transit options will be shared at VisitLongBeach.com.

Additional Background on the Pride Festival
Over the past several months, the City of Long Beach's Special Events team has worked closely with Long Beach Pride, the private organizers of the annual Pride Festival, to support their efforts to safely produce this year's event, which was scheduled to take place on May 15, 16 and 17. While the City now manages and funds the Long Beach Pride Parade, the Pride Festival remains an independently organized, ticketed event that requires the submission of detailed operational, construction and public safety plans in order to be permitted to ensure safety of the attendees.

Despite continued collaboration and multiple deadline notices, the City did not receive the required documentation needed to complete safety reviews, inspect critical event infrastructure, such as the stage, electrical systems and tent, and emergency exiting plans to ensure compliance with public safety standards. With event programming scheduled to begin today, May 15 at 5 p.m. with Teen Pride and essential information still outstanding, there is no longer sufficient time to safely permit the festival this year.

The City shared this determination with Long Beach Pride on Thursday, May 14, and continued to work with the organization this morning, May 15, on the possibility of a shortened event this weekend. Despite these expedited and additional efforts, the organization was unable to provide the necessary documentation for safety reviews and inspections. As of 4:30 p.m. today, complete information was not received. Out of responsibility to the safety of attendees, staff and the broader community, the City cannot issue the permit and has directed the event organizers to not continue their event.

Any business that obtained a special business license and other necessary Health permits to be a part of the festival will receive a full refund from the City. The City will be reaching out directly to these impacted businesses and organizations. For questions related to the event, including ticket refunds, vendor participation fees and sponsorship information, please contact the event organizer, Long Beach Pride, at 562.987.9191.

About the Long Beach Pride Parade and Citywide Celebrations
While the festival does not have a permit to move forward due to safety concerns, the Long Beach Pride Parade is unaffected and will proceed as planned on Sunday, May 17 starting at 10 a.m. The City is proud to fully fund and produce the parade, which continues to be a cornerstone celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. The City looks forward to joining residents, visitors and Long Beach Pride along the parade route. Many restaurants, bars and LGBTQ+-affirming businesses in vibrant Downtown Long Beach and along Broadway will also be hosting celebrations throughout the weekend, and the City encourages the community to show their support by visiting them. More Pride-related events taking place citywide can be found on VisitLongBeach.com.

About the City's Ongoing Commitment to the LGBTQ+ Community
The City of Long Beach remains deeply committed to uplifting and supporting LGBTQ+ community members year-round through meaningful action, investment and cultural recognition. This includes:

• Raising the LGBTQ+ Progress Pride Flag annually at City Hall as a symbol of inclusion and solidarity, reaffirmed through a City Council resolution.
• Honoring the transgender community through the annual Transgender Pride Flag raising.
• Being intentional about LGBTQ+ inclusion in many aspects of government practices and policies, which earned the City the recognition as one of the best cities in the nation for LGBTQ+ inclusion in municipal law and policy by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Municipal Equality Index for 14 consecutive years. In 2025, the City once again earned a perfect score, as well as a City record 18 total bonus points.
• Assuming production of the Pride Parade in 2023 to ensure its continuation when the prior organizer was unable to do so.
• Creating Harvey Milk Promenade Park and Equality Plaza which was the first park in the nation named after Harvey Milk. The park opened in May 2013 in the heart of Downtown Long Beach.
• Officially designating May 22 as Harvey Milk Day in the City of Long Beach.
• Maintaining the Harvey Milk Equality Wall, a landmark honoring local LGBTQ+ leaders. Community members continue to be inducted onto the wall in recognition of their advocacy on issues such as equal rights, AIDS research, entertainment, historic preservation, homelessness and community empowerment.
• Advancing the development of the City's first LGBTQ+ Cultural District, with additional updates on next steps coming soon.

Long Beach is proud of its support and long-standing partnership with LGBTQ+ residents, leaders, nonprofits and businesses. That commitment continues. While the festival will not take place this year, the City continues to uplift celebrations, traditions and community spaces that honor LGBTQ+ history, culture and belonging.

We look forward to celebrating Pride with the community this weekend and throughout the year.

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