The Long Beach Pride Festival — a staple event that’s celebrated the LGBTQ+ community for the past four decades — has been cancelled, according to the event’s organizers and the city, with the latter citing an apparent permitting issue.
Long Beach Pride, the nonprofit that organizes the festival each year, said in a Friday statement that the festival had been cancelled and urging the city of Long Beach to “engage in good faith” to find a way to make the event happen this year. The Long Beach Pride Parade, which the city took over in 2024, still will take place Sunday.
The Pride Festival was slated to get underway Friday and run through Sunday.
While Long Beach Pride’s announcement didn’t list a reason for the event’s cancellation — though its president said in a different statement that the organization had asked the city for help earlier this year — Long Beach responded shortly after with its own statement saying the nonprofit had failed to secure necessary security permits to allow the festival to continue. Long Beach Pride could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.
“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,” the city’s statement said. “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.”
Long Beach’s Special Events team, the statement said, worked with Long Beach Pride over the past several months to try and resolve the issue to no avail.
Long Beach alerted the event’s organizers to its decision that the festival could not continue without the proper safety permits Thursday, the city said, and attempted to come to a solution, including the option of hosting a “shortened event” this weekend, it said Friday.
“Despite these expedited and additional efforts, the organization was unable to provide the necessary documentation for safety reviews and inspections,” the city said. “As of 4:30 p.m. (Friday), 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.”
Long Beach Pride President Tonya Martin addressed the situation in a video posted online. After reading Pride’s general statement regarding the festival’s cancellation that had been posted to its website earlier in the day, Martin elaborated on the situation.
“Just remember, this is more of an emotional day for me because I’ve been with the organization for many years. I’ve seen it grow and I’ve seen the challenges that we’ve had throughout the years with the city, but we came together and worked with them,” Martin said. “This time we asked for help again, early in the year, and it never was given. So to do this to us, is to do this to all of us.”
Long Beach Pride has had its fair share of issues in recent years.
Most notably, the city has recently taken over organizing the parade from Long Beach Pride, which historically handled both the parade and festival since their founding in 1984.
That change was first announced in 2024 when Long Beach Pride leaders asked the City Council for help funding the parade, citing financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues.
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Long Beach is still organizing the parade this year, and it will continue as planned Sunday, with no changes, the city said Friday.
“The city looks forward to joining residents, visitors and Long Beach Pride along the parade route,” the city’s statement said. “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.”
Long Beach Pride said in its Friday statement that cancelling the festival “sends the wrong message” to the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
“It tells LGBTQ+ residents, workers, students, small business owners, artists, families, visitors and allies that their safety, visibility and celebration are negotiable,” the nonprofit said. “It undermines decades of volunteer work and community trust. And it weakens the very values Long Beach claims to champion.”
Long Beach Pride said it is calling on city leaders to help find a solution and allow the festival to continue as planned this weekend.
“We call on the City of Long Beach to immediately engage in good faith with Long Beach Pride, community leaders, public safety partners, and elected officials to identify a path forward that preserves the festival and protects the community,” the nonprofit said. “We call on our Mayor Rex Richardson and the city council members to make the Pride Festival happen. We ask that our city leaders stand with the community at this critical moment and help ensure that Long Beach remains a beacon of equality, safety, and pride.”
Some community members voiced their thoughts via social media on Friday.
“While I understand the financial challenges LB Pride has faced recently, I also believe the organization stopped looking after the community years ago,” Natasha Hundreds, a local drag performer crowned Miss Long Beach Pride in 2024, said in a comment on social media. “A change of leadership is well overdue. I hope next year we can celebrate the festival our community deserves.”
Jessica Mercado, who was slated to perform at the festival today, also commented under Long Beach Pride’s social media post announcing the event’s cancellation.
“I am a confirmed performer with the opening ceremony Saturday, and we have not received any personal message regarding the cancellation of the event … very unprofessional,” Mercado said. “Nor had we received our contract.”
It is unclear whether refunds for Long Beach Pride Festival tickets will be given. Ticket prices for the festival ranged from $40 for a one-day general admission ticket to $150 for one-day VIP admission, according to the event’s website.
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