Tampa Pride has canceled all its 2026 events and will take a one-year hiatus.
In a Facebook post on Sept. 19, the board reposted an Aug. 1 letter to former president Carrie West, whose 12-year tenure with the organization ended when his contract expired in August, announcing it would not be renewed.
“The current political and economic climate, including challenges with corporate sponsorships, reductions in county, state and federal grant funding, and the discontinuation of DEI programs under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has made it increasingly difficult for our organization to sustain ongoing operations for 2026,” the organization wrote.
“Due to these challenges, the Board has made the difficult decision to implement a one-year hiatus of the annual Tampa Pride Festival and Diversity Parade and all the affiliated Tampa Pride events,” the letter continues. “We recognize the festival and parade’s significant financial contribution to local businesses and its vital role to our LGBTQIA+ community. However, this pause is necessary for the organization to regroup, reassess our long-term strategy, and identify additional avenues of funding to secure the future stability of Tampa Pride events.”
The board thanked West for his years of service and praised his work on behalf of the organization and the broader LGBTQ community.
West told Tampa Bay NBC affiliate WFLA that the festival, parade, and other Pride events were hindered by both dwindling community donations and corporations reducing or withdrawing their support altogether.
West noted that money collected at this time of year secures venues, permits, and deposits for events throughout the calendar year, including the next Pride celebration. He estimated Tampa Pride needs at least $225,000 to $275,000 to remain operational.
Tampa Pride typically receives low six-figure donations from major corporations, but many have backed out over fears of boycotts or investigations tied to DEI programs and LGBTQ giving. “We lost quite a few [sponsors],” West told WFLA.
West cautioned there are no guarantees Tampa Pride’s events will resume after the one-year hiatus.
Across the U.S., conservatives have pressured companies to withdraw their support for Pride, forcing organizers to scale back or find new funding. Anti-DEI activists accuse pro-diversity companies of discrimination and urge boycotts of “woke” brands, targeting even those that merely donate to LGBTQ causes.
Alongside activist pressure, the Trump administration has threatened investigations of companies that keep DEI policies. Both federal and Florida officials have moved to block taxpayer dollars from funding DEI or LGBTQ-related work, with some Tampa Bay governments even scaling back or renaming diversity offices, reports the Tampa Bay Times.
Tampa Pride’s reposting of the letter without comment drew sharp backlash from local LGBTQ community members, who accused the board of caving to anti-LGBTQ pressure from activists, the Trump administration, and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Others raised questions about possible financial mismanagement.
“Cancelling any Pride festival makes the community feel like the haters are winning the battle to make our community fear & disappear,” wrote one Facebook user.
“The current political environment is why we need pride more than ever. You don’t need a festival, you don’t need a stage, you just need to show [up] and march. It’s what we did in the ’80s,” wrote another.
“Pride didn’t start with a budget, or any sponsorships. Get back to our roots. March together and make our voices heard!” wrote a third user, echoing a sentiment repeated often on Tampa Pride’s Facebook page.
Tampa’s LGBTQ community has faced hostile political climates before. In 2005, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms pushed through a ban on all county-run Pride events. The ban was repealed in 2013, but Tampa Pride didn’t hold a parade until 2015, reports Axios.
In 2023, Tampa Pride canceled its Pride on the River festival after Gov. DeSantis signed a so-called “drag ban,” allowing prosecution of businesses accused of letting children attend an “adult live performance.” The law has been blocked by a federal judge, with the Supreme Court declining to lift the injunction and a federal appeals court suggesting it is “likely unconstitutional.”
In neighboring Pinellas County, St. Pete Pride organizers told the Tampa Bay Times their 2026 events will proceed as planned. The city of St. Petersburg, the group’s largest sponsor, has connected them with city vendors to secure better rates and deals, said St. Pete Pride President Byron Green-Calisch.
The largest Pride in the Southeast, St. Pete Pride drew 350,000 attendees this year and operates on a $700,000 budget. The group recently shifted to rely more on individual donations as corporate sponsorships dwindled. Green-Calisch said it lost $150,000 to $175,000 in corporate funding this year, forcing the organization to “work harder” to cover costs.
“It is hard to raise money specifically in a political context when there’s rhetoric vilifying the queer community,” he said. “Businesses do weigh that risk: Am I going to be retaliated in this moment if I choose to support or engage?”
The Turning Point USA co-founder, who once declared Pride a “sin” and opposed LGBTQ rights, was killed during a campus event at Utah Valley University.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed by an assassin's bullet during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
The 31-year-old was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, an organization advocating for conservative politics and education on high school and college campuses.
At the time of the shooting, Kirk, who appeared on campus as part of his "American Comeback Tour," was taking questions from people in the crowd while seated at a "Prove Me Wrong" table in the Sorensen Center courtyard on campus, according to The Associated Press.
A federal judge has ruled in favor of William Saki, an Ohio man who sued after the state rejected his request for a personalized license plate reading "GAY," which he sought to mark National Coming Out Day and "express a central part of his identity."
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) had rejected the plate as "Inappropriate/Invalid," according to its online registration tool.
Saki then tried to register other plates, including "QUEER" and "HOMO," but those were also rejected, according to the Ohio-based LGBTQ outlet The Buckeye Flame.
Two of MAGA's favorite political pundits -- Tucker Carlson and Daily Wire host Michael Knowles -- pushed a wild conspiracy theory on Carlson's podcast that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is faking his sexual orientation for political gain, with Carlson deriding him as "the fake gay guy."
Knowles responded that he has a friend "who thinks a fake gay."
"My gay producer is always like, 'he's not gay,'" Carlson said, claiming Buttigieg "was with a girl like 20 minutes ago" and suggesting he only identifies as gay to boost his political ambitions. "It's like 'time for a gay guy!'" he added, leaning on a common right-wing trope that mocks Democrats for promoting diversity.
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