With Pride events cancelled due to COVID-19, LGBTI+ and ally communities around the world have lost an important avenue to celebrate and express their identity. In response, Pride organisations have come together to take Pride virtual this year, with the inaugural Global Pride 2020 taking place on 27 June 2020.
As part of Global Pride 2020, our team in Singapore proudly partnered with Global Pride to present #GlobalPrideCrossing, the first international virtual Pride festival to be hosted on Animal Crossing.
— Global Pride 2020 (@GlobalPride2020) June 17, 2020
With around 20,000 LGBTI+ related Animal Crossing mentions on Twitter to-date, we were inspired by the thriving LGBTI+ gaming community which already sees Animal Crossing: New Horizons as a creative outlet for expression.
The festival aims to galvanize more players to join in the celebrations and host their own Pride parades on the platform, particularly those who have never been able to join in a Pride celebration for whatever reason.
Our specially-built Pride island showcases activities such as a rainbow march, a message board, a hall of fame, a club and a catwalk, as well as a range of Pride-friendly clothing options that can be worn in the game.
On Pride day itself (Saturday, June 27), influential Twitch creators from around the world will live stream their Animal Crossing game session and host Pride activities on their own island. The Twitch streamers will also raise funds through Tiltify – a Twitch fundraising tool – in support of the Pride movement and Pride organizations impacted by COVID-19.
In this period when communities around the world remain separated as a result of lockdowns, #GlobalPrideCrossing provides a common safe space for people of any gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity who are part of LGBTI+ and ally communities to celebrate Pride.
