TL;DR
- Tampa and Fort Myers cancel 2025 Pride celebrations.
- Organizers cite major funding shortfalls and political hostility.
- Fort Myers event aims for a comeback in 2026 under Visuality nonprofit.
- Tampa Pride faces deeper uncertainty, with no guarantee of 2027 events.
- Cuts linked to loss of sponsorships and anti-DEI measures in Florida.
Pride on Pause in the Sunshine State
Florida’s rainbow is fading this year. Both Tampa and Fort Myers have announced that their Pride celebrations are officially off the calendar for 2025, with organizers pointing to gutted sponsorships and a hostile political climate that’s left the LGBTQ community sidelined.
Fort Myers’ Pride Southwest Florida, a community tradition since 2009, is folding its 2025 edition due to a lack of funds. Organizers say the event will relaunch in 2026 under the nonprofit Visuality, which merged with Pride-SWFL to streamline resources. “The unfortunate part was we just didn’t have enough planning time for us to be able to put it on for 2025,” said Adam Larivee, president of Visuality. Still, he promised that next year’s Pride will be “better than ever” and possibly staged at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center—once the city approves permits.
Meanwhile, Tampa Pride is hitting pause after celebrating its 10th official anniversary earlier this year. The group’s board told longtime President Carrie West that her contract would not be renewed, citing shrinking donations, slashed government grants, and the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs under Governor Ron DeSantis. In plain English: Pride can’t pay the bills. What used to be $10,000 checks from sponsors are now trickling in as $1,000 scraps. West admitted that without at least $225,000, there’s no future for the festival—and even 2027 remains up in the air.
Politics, Money, and the Price of Pride
Organizers say this isn’t just about dollars—it’s about the culture war. Corporate sponsors, once eager to plaster rainbows on ads every June, are pulling out of Pride events altogether. Many fear becoming political targets in a Florida defined by “Don’t Say Gay” rhetoric and sweeping DEI crackdowns. And while businesses backpedal, LGBTQ communities are left to wonder if safe, public celebrations of identity are slipping away in hostile states.
The trend isn’t isolated to Florida. Across the country, Pride organizers have warned of steep funding declines. Some events have shrunk; others have vanished entirely. Organizers trace the chilling effect back to Washington, where Donald Trump kicked off his presidency with an executive order curbing DEI initiatives. The ripple effect has been felt everywhere from New York to Miami, and Florida is bearing the brunt.
The Impact on Florida’s LGBTQ Community
For LGBTQ Floridians, the absence of Pride is more than canceled parades—it’s a loss of visibility, solidarity, and joy. Pride isn’t just a party; it’s a lifeline in a state where queer people are under legislative and cultural attack. As Larivee put it, “Our goal is exposure, education and experience.” Without public celebrations, that exposure dims, leaving younger generations and closeted individuals without the reminder that they are not alone.
Canceling Pride doesn’t erase queer Floridians, but it does signal the weight of political pressure and economic retreat. For many, it feels like yet another chapter in the rollback of LGBTQ rights under conservative leadership. Still, organizers insist they’re not giving up. “We’re here,” Larivee stressed. “Fort Myers is a safe place for the LGBTQ+ community.” The message: the rainbow may bend, but it won’t break.
In the end, Florida’s Pride cancellations tell a bigger story—about money, politics, and the resilience of a community that refuses to be erased. The parades may be off for now, but the fight, the glitter, and the love are far from over.