Copenhagen Pride is currently in the midst of a serious crisis. A total of 16 sponsors have chosen to withdraw their support after a controversial statement regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict. Now the situation is getting even worse: a former sponsor has switched sides and gone over to one of Copenhagen Pride’s competitors. Maersk, who has been a solid sponsor for Copenhagen Pride for many years, has now chosen to support Aarhus Pride instead. This was announced by Aarhus Pride on their Instagram profile. “Thank you so much to Maersk for your support and commitment as the new main sponsor for Aarhus Pride! Thanks to your support, we can ensure the further development of Pride and the holding of the largest pride in Aarhus’ history! Thank you for your valuable support to our community and for helping make Pride possible,” Aarhus Pride wrote about the new collaboration.
When Maersk announced earlier this month that they were ending their partnership with Copenhagen Pride, the company’s press department stated in a written comment to Berlingske: “We have been happy with the collaboration for a number of years, but in such partnerships, we expect a high degree of predictability and an undisturbed focus on the issue at hand,” the press department said. Maersk now believes they have found that predictability at Aarhus Pride.
Copenhagen Pride’s crisis began in February when, under internal pressure, the organization announced that they would inquire with their sponsors about their ‘engagement, investments, and presence’ in Israel and Gaza, and on this basis evaluate whether sponsors should be rejected. Although Copenhagen Pride issued an apology and chairman Lars Henriksen later stepped down, the exodus of sponsors has continued unabated. According to communications advisor Henrik Kragelund, owner of the company Shitstormdoktor, Copenhagen Pride is now in a ‘huge crisis’. Copenhagen Pride has been in existence since 1996. The organization works for LGBT rights and is best known for organizing a large annual parade with tens of thousands of participants.