After having had to put its festival on hold due to the pandemic, Montreal Pride is preparing its return, which this time will take place on the Esplanade of the Olympic Stadium, starting August 1.

Since 2017, the event has been held in Parc des Faubourgs, in the Centre-Sud, near the village.

“We have experienced tremendous growth. In 2019, people could no longer return, and we could no longer ensure everyone's safety. We had no choice, we had to go to another place,” explained the general manager of Pride Montreal, Simon Gamache.

The organization chose the Esplanade du Stade, large enough for its needs, and accessible by public transport.

The opening show of the festival, which will take place on August 3, will be provided by Diane Dufresne and Montreal DJ Pierre Kwenders.

Alaclair Ensemble, Cœur de pirate, Corneille, Dominique Fils-Aimé, Ariane Moffat and Sarahmée are among the artists who will take to the stage during the nine shows that will be presented as part of the Festival.

The traditional parade of the organization will take place on Sunday, August 7th. It will be followed by a show by DJ Karaba and DJ Juan Niño, as well as Brazilian “superstar drag queen” Pabllo Vittar.

"It's an organization that has come so far since 2007. Montréal Pride is today the largest LGBTQ gathering in Canada, and the largest gathering of its kind across the Francophonie," the city councilor told the city. of Montreal, Robert Beaudry.

Montréal Pride also presented its ten main demands for the year 2022.

The organization calls in particular for “adequate” funding for LGBTQ community organizations, a commitment to fight discrimination, free HIV care, as well as the decriminalization of HIV non-disclosure and that of sex work.

"The rights are not acquired, there is still work to be done," said the chairman of the board of directors of Pride Montreal, Moe Hamandi.