The West Hollywood Pride Subcommittee of the City Council is scheduled to receive a post-event report on WeHo Pride 2024. This meeting will provide an opportunity for subcommittee members to review the event’s outcomes and provide feedback that will inform the planning for WeHo Pride 2025.
West Hollywood has celebrated LGBTQ+ Pride since its incorporation in 1984. Before the city began organizing its own Pride events, the celebrations were managed by Christopher Street West, a nonprofit organization responsible for ticketed festivals, parades, and street festivals.
In 2022, West Hollywood launched its inaugural WeHo Pride, transitioning to a city-led event. The City Council decided in 2023 to hold WeHo Pride Weekend annually during the first weekend in June, reflecting the city’s ongoing commitment to Pride celebrations.
The 2024 WeHo Pride Weekend included a free community concert held on Friday, May 31, in West Hollywood Park, featuring headliners Adam Lambert and Kesha, and drew over 8,500 attendees. On Saturday, June 1, and Sunday, June 2, the WeHo Pride Street Fair took place along Santa Monica Boulevard, offering community group booths, sponsor activations, live performances on two stages, photo opportunities and other entertainment elements.
The OUTLOUD Music Festival on June 1 and 2 was headlined by Janelle Monae and Kylie Minogue, with approximately 33,000 guests attending over the weekend. OUTLOUD continued its practice of distributing complimentary tickets to non-profits and community groups.
The Women’s Freedom Festival and Dyke March was held on Saturday, June 1, as part of the Street Fair. The festival, produced by the L-Project, featured performances by LGBTQ and BIPOC women and non-binary musicians, comedians, poets, and activists. The Dyke March, led by motorcycles, followed the festival, with over 25 bikers and hundreds of marchers participating.
WeHo Pride 2024 also included co-sponsored events produced by LGBTQ+ community groups. The city received 47 applications for funding through its Community Group Program, with 14 groups selected to receive a total of $73,005. These groups included BIPOC organizations, women’s groups, bisexual organizations and drag groups. The city also provided over 40 non-profit and LGBTQ+ community groups with free booth space at the WeHo Pride Street Fair.
To encourage local business participation, the City Council waived Special Event Permit fees and Encroachment Permit fees for businesses hosting low-impact activations during Pride Weekend. Twenty businesses participated in this program.
The 2024 WeHo Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival was held from June 14 to June 16 and included a range of performances and exhibitions by LGBTQ+ artists.
Overall, the events attracted large crowds, and feedback from participants, including community members, stakeholders and partner agencies, was generally positive. The Transgender Advisory Board discussed their participation in the WeHo Pride Street Fair during their meeting on June 5, 2024, and the Disabilities Advisory Board provided feedback on the accessibility of WeHo Pride at its meeting on July 24, 2024. The city is conducting a city-wide ADA study, including an evaluation of all city events, to assess ADA compliance and gather information for improving accessibility.
At its meeting on August 8, 2024, the LGBTQ+ Commission received a post-event debrief and provided input for WeHo Pride 2025. The commission offered suggestions for awarding the full budgeted funds to community groups, clarifying the criteria for the Community Group Program and offering workshops or other support to groups applying for the program.
The full post-event debrief and recommendations for WeHo Pride 2025 will be presented to the City Council at its September meeting. This report will include community and stakeholder feedback, a 2024 budget summary, and proposed changes to the 2025 budget. The city will continue to gather feedback from various stakeholders to inform the planning of future events.
I really hope the subcommittee expressed concerns over security. Our booth at Sizzle was ransacked, and other booths were robbed. We were told 24 hour security. This has never happened to any booth I’ve had in 18 years.
Once the paid shows are sold out they should be aired for no charge on the city channel for everyone to enjoy. After all, we WeHo residents subsidize the entire weekend.
TOO BIG, and too much of a music festival.
While I thought the OutLoud Festival was a great idea, it’s also extremely expensive and therefore out of reach for so many potential attendees. Day or weekend passes needed to be purchased and there were no “ins and outs”, which is absurd given the cost AND the amount of hours the festival goes on. Since attendees can’t leave, the promoters then bring in vendors who charge $20/cocktail and $20+ for tacos, pizza and burgers. I urge the WeHo Pride organization to negotiate better with OutLoud, as they are truly gouging the community, and to make the new “festival” financially in… Read more »
I hope that the subcommittee will include accommodations for people with disabilities and older adult for future celebrations (of any kind) because according to people who had difficulty participating, they were overlooked and forgotten about!
The Sub-committee would do well to remember that ADA EQUAL ACCESSIBILITY is more than keeping scooters and delivery robots off the sidewalks!