It's going to be a legendary celebration as WorldPride 2019 | Stonewall 50 kicks off Pride month in New York City with one of the greatest LGBTQ icons of the last half-century: Madonna.
The Queen of Pop broke the news on a video broadcast on The Today Show this week. She addressed rumors of her appearance that have been swirling for the better part of the last year.
“I hear you,” said Madonna in the video, while draped in one of her Madame X Rainbow Flags, “I will be on Pride Island, where I was born.”
Madonna will appear during the second night of Pride Island, the weekend-long concert experience held on Hudson River Park's Pier 97, June 29 and 30. She is expected to perform a few songs at the close of the event Sunday. Grace Jones will headline Saturday evening, alongside performers Teyana Taylor and Kim Petras.
Tickets for both nights of Pride Island have already sold out.
That's not the only opportunity to spot stars, however. The Opening Ceremony will bring the party across the East River to Brooklyn where Cyndi Lauper, Chaka Khan, Ciara, Billy Porter and more are slated to perform at Barclays Center.
EGOT-winner and LGBTQIA+ advocate Whoopi Goldberg will serve as the opening ceremony host. Tickets are on sale, and benefit the Ali Forney Center, SAGE and Immigration Equality.
Additionally, the Closing Ceremony will be a star-studded event featuring host Margaret Cho and performances from Jake Shears, Deborah Cox and Melissa Etheridge. Tickets are free for the Times Square performances, but pre-registration is required. Also be sure to check the list of permitted items as there will be extensive bag checks.
As this year's Pride celebrations commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, politics remain front and center at this year's festivities.
On Friday, June 28, LGBTQIA+ and human rights organizers and activists will take to the streets at Christopher Street and Waverly Place in the West Village. The free rally marks the anniversary of the “Gay Power” demonstration first held in Washington Square Park in 1969.
There's also the annual Pride March which will feature an estimated 150,000 marchers. The route begins on the corner of 26th Street and Fifth Avenue, heads west on 8th Street, continues on Christopher Street, past the Stonewall National Monument, before turning up 7th Avenue and passing the New York City AIDS Memorial.
This year's spectacular march will be highlighted by a collection of impressive Grand Marshals. The cast of Pose on FX (including Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore and MJ Rodriquez), UK Black Pride organizer Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, trans activist Monica Helms, the Trevor Project and the Gay Liberation Front are all among those leading this year's march.
That's just a sampling of the 50+ events taking place this month in New York City, including parties, political conferences, arts festivals and family events. Browse all this year's programming at 2019-worldpride-stonewall50.nycpride.org.
