Copenhagen Pride, the annual festival celebrating and supporting LGBT+ rights, is facing new challenges after losing several important partners. However, the organization expresses a strong determination to continue the fight for human rights and hopes to rebuild trust with former partners. According to spokesperson Benjamin Hansen, it is crucial for Copenhagen Pride to address human rights violations globally, as these directly impact LGBT+ individuals worldwide. “There are LGBT+ people everywhere, so when human rights violations occur around the world, it also affects LGBT+ individuals,” explains Hansen.
This stance comes in the wake of several major companies, including some from the Confederation of Danish Industry (Dansk Industri), deciding to withdraw their support. These companies have explained their decision by stating that Copenhagen Pride has focused more on politicized issues rather than diversity and the rights of sexual minorities. The companies’ reaction followed a controversy where Copenhagen Pride asked their partners to take a stand on the conflict between Israel and Gaza, which created unrest and misunderstandings about the organization’s intentions.
Lars Henriksen, chairperson of Copenhagen Pride, has since apologized for the organization’s communication in this matter. Benjamin Hansen acknowledges that there is room for improvement in the organization’s communication strategy. “It is quite clear that we have not been good enough on the communicative side to communicate our message,” he says.
Copenhagen Pride now hopes to reestablish collaboration with former partners and restore the trust that seems to have been weakened. The organization emphasizes its continued commitment to fight for human rights and LGBT+ rights both locally and globally.