WorldPride Taiwan 2025 Cancelled Due to Name Change

LGBTQ+ revelers will have to scrap their plans to visit the first country in East Asia to host WorldPride. Why? The WorldPride Taiwan 2025 Preparation Committee withdrew from its hosting duties for the biennial global event after they insisted the word “Taiwan” be removed from the official title.

Taiwan was the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019, garnering a reputation as a leader in LGBTQ rights in East Asia. So, naturally, it made sense why InterPride chose Taiwan’s southern city of Kaohsiung to host WorldPride 2025. 

The preparation committee Comprised of members from the organizations Taiwan Pride and Kaohsiung Pride, the preparation committee halted all plans after InterPride requested to change the name from “WorldPride Taiwan 2025” to “WorldPride Kaohsiung 2025,” according to Global Voices.

“After careful evaluation, it is believed that if the event continues, it may harm the interests of Taiwan and the Taiwan gay community. Therefore, it is decided to terminate the project before signing the contract,” said the Kaohsiung organizers. 

The move is somewhat normal practice to avoid political problems with China which view the democratically-governed island as its own territory and bulks at anything that suggests it is a separate country. 

An organization that consists of more than 300 international Pride organizations across 60 countries, InterPride said in a statement they were “surprised to learn” the news and that they respected the decision even though they were disappointed. It added, “We were confident a compromise could have been reached with respect to the long-standing WorldPride tradition of suing the host city name.”

The name change seemed to be the last straw after news that there were already issues brewing. In a Facebook post, organizers complained that during “back-and-forth discussions,” InterPride raised concerns and doubts about whether Taiwan had the capacity, economic, and otherwise, to host an international event like WorldPride.  

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said the event would have “advanced regional diversity and equality” and also cited that the decision disrespected “Taiwan’s rights and diligent efforts” and also “harms Asia’s vast LGBTIQ+ community,” which “runs counter to the progressive principles espoused by InterPride.”

Washington, DC was in the running as a potential host city for WorldPride 2025, but as of the published date of this article, InterPride still hasn’t announced if a new host city has been chosen, but we’ll keep you posted!