City Cancels Weekend Pride Festival

The City of Long Beach canceled the 2026 Long Beach Pride Festival on May 15, just thirty minutes before the “Teen Pride” celebration was set to begin at Marina Green Park. This decision was due to a lack of documentation needed for the event. However, the annual Long Beach Pride Parade still took place as scheduled on May 17 along Ocean Boulevard.

The Long Beach Office of Special Events and Filming cited a lack of approved structural engineering plans that include staging and lighting, electrical load plans, security layouts and emergency strategies for a major public event.

Standard procedure requires permit applications to be submitted 65 days in advance, with limited expedited reviews allowed. However, critical site plans were still being submitted inadequately as late as 7 p.m. on May 14, failing to meet safety inspection requirements.

Due to liability concerns, the city denied the permit and issued a cease-and-desist order to Long Beach Pride organizers, requiring them to stop all load-in procedures.

From a municipal governance and risk management perspective, the cancellation was a cautious public safety decision. A festival for thousands cannot operate without fire marshal approvals and safety inspections.

When it became clear that the Marina Green Park setup couldn’t receive the necessary permits, Long Beach City Manager Tom Modica and other officials began planning to salvage the event.

The city offered organizers two alternative venues to avoid the complex build-outs at Marina Green Park. The first option is Long Beach Terrace Theater Plaza, which accommodates up to 3,000 people and allows for ticket sales and sponsor booths in a code-compliant setting.

The second option is the Bixby Park Bandshell for a free public concert. Additionally, Mayor Rex Richardson offered to use his network to privately fundraise up to $50,000 to cover emergency relocation costs for either option.

The Long Beach Pride organization declined both venue offers due to over $100,000 in unexpected costs for the Terrace Theater and concerns about its layout. Bixby Park was also rejected due to insufficient time to prepare the venue and meet the artists’ contractual requirements.

Following the rejection, Long Beach Pride posted on Instagram to express their disappointment. “We acknowledge the challenges that occurred, and we are reviewing what happened so we can improve our internal systems moving forward.”

The organizers emphasized that they do not accept any narrative that indicates Long Beach Pride “walked away from the community or failed to fight for the festival.”

The organization began its permit application on January 17, 2026, but was notified of a new municipal permitting system in early March. They tried to use the 2025 festival documents as templates, yet engineering schematics cannot be copied from year to year. They must account for the specific hardware and site layout, as well as structural integrity and electrical requirements.

An analysis shows the organization faced financial issues, with losses exceeding $1.8 million from 2022 to 2024. Specifically, they reported losses of $819,066 in 2022, $716,729 in 2023, and $306,000 in 2024, which depleted cash reserves and led to institutional debt.

For the 2026 festival, the budget was set at $500,000, but revenue streams failed to materialize. The organization secured only a $10,000 sponsorship from local entities and sold just 331 tickets at $40 each by April 29, two weeks before the event.

With less than $100,000 raised, the financial crisis was acknowledged in early March when the treasurer warned the board that Long Beach Pride could not cover existing loans or festival production costs.

In late 2025, Long Beach Pride faced a cash shortfall and decided to terminate its contract with its professional production company to save money. Nonprofits typically rely on these companies for their expertise in site plans.

However, by trying to manage the event production themselves, the volunteer board faced new challenges, leading to the cancellation due to their inability to meet technical permitting requirements.

The 43rd Annual Long Beach Pride Parade commenced despite the cancellation of the accompanying festival. Starting at Ocean Boulevard and Lindero Avenue, the parade benefited from a 2024 City of Long Beach decision to fully fund and manage it, protecting it from the non-profit’s recent decline. This direct municipal oversight helped the parade achieve its highest participation ever in 2026, with 141 individual entries.

Established in October 1983 by Judith Doyle, Marilyn Barlow and Robert Crow, Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride, Inc. (rebranded as Long Beach Pride in 2020) organized its first Pride event in June 1984, attracting about 5,000 attendees. By 1993, it had become the fourth-largest pride celebration in the nation.

The 2026 Pride Festival cancellation echoes a similar instance seen between West Hollywood and Christopher Street West, the non-profit behind LA Pride. After financial mismanagement led to bankruptcy, the city took control in 2020 and partnered with a private event production company to create WeHo Pride. This improved safety compliance and reduced the impact of non-profit board politics on the celebration.

When conflicts arise, cancellation or relocation is standard. In Florida, the Country Thunder music festival faced potential cancellation despite non-refundable tickets due to a lack of environmental permits.

In Texas, the Chilifest festival was canceled on the day of the event because of unsafe mud conditions. In Washington, organizers canceled the Pacific Northwest Folklórico Festival over public safety concerns related to immigration enforcement, opting for smaller local performances instead.

The City of Long Beach organized “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!”, a free concert and drag show at Bixby Park Bandshell, after the festival cancellation. Collaborating with Visit Long Beach and featuring Emmy Award winner Delta Work, the event included live music, DJs and local business support.

The city also expanded transit options with the free Broadway Corridor Shuttle and Pride Circuit Bus.

For any inquiries or further information, please contact Jose Cervantes at JoseC.Press@pm.me

PRIOR POSTINGS VIA CITY OF LONG BEACH

City Update About Pride Weekend [Saturday, May 16, 5:03 p.m.]

The City of Long Beach remains committed to supporting a safe, joyful and inclusive Pride Weekend for our entire community. There are so many opportunities to celebrate in Long Beach. The city and dozens of organizations, businesses and community partners are hosting Pride-themed events, gatherings, performances and family-friendly activities. A list of many of these events can be found at VisitLongBeach.com.

Yesterday, May 15, at 5:25 p.m., the City issued a statement that the Long Beach Pride Festival would not be able to take place this year because critical information necessary to safely permit the event had not been provided by the event organizers to ensure a safe and secure event for attendees.

Typically, completed applications for festivals of this size are due 65 days in advance, with the option for applicants to request expedited review within 14 days. City staff continued to work throughout the week leading up to the festival, including the day before and in the hours leading up to the scheduled start of the event, to receive missing documentation, review all information submitted and provide feedback.

Additional festival site plans were submitted for review around 7 p.m. last night, May 15; however, the submission remained incomplete and did not include important information necessary for the city to complete its safety and permitting review for the event in order to issue permits.  

As of this morning, May 16, the city still did not have approved stamped structural plans for the stage and trusses, approved electrical plans, detailed security plans with specific locations for security, and sufficient detail in the site plan on locations of critical infrastructure to safely grant the necessary event permits.

Although the timeframe had passed to issue permits for the festival as it was originally envisioned by Long Beach Pride, the event organizer, the city continued working last night and this morning to identify possible alternative venue options so that Long Beach Pride could still host a meaningful community gathering this weekend.

City leadership and the Convention Center met with Long Beach Pride last night to offer two solutions: use of the Long Beach Terrace Theater and plaza to accommodate up to 3,000 people or use of the Bixby Park bandshell. In accordance with city regulations and the condensed timeline, these events could not be fenced off and alcohol could not be sold.  However, tickets could have been sold at the Terrace Theater, with sponsor booths on the outside, and the Bixby Park bandshell could have hosted a free concert in the park open to the public. Mayor Rex Richardson offered to privately fundraise up to $50,000 to support either event. Long Beach Pride chose not to accept these options.

This information is being shared in the interest of transparency about the steps the city has taken and to reaffirm that the city’s goal throughout this process has been to support a safe, community-focused space for celebration during Pride Weekend.

To support locals and the additional visitors traveling to attend Pride-related activities in Long Beach this weekend, the city has added 11 additional circuit microtransit vehicles, activated additional Long Beach Transit buses and set out additional restroom facilities on Broadway to support increased traffic in the area.

The city has also opened a permit operation this weekend to support bars and restaurants with questions on what else they can do to accommodate visitors. In addition, the city will activate the bandshell at Bixby Park (130 Cherry Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802) on Sunday, May 17, from noon to 7 p.m. with live music and a free drag show hosted by Jewels of Long Beach. Information regarding the free event at Bixby Park as well as the additional transit options can be found at VisitLongBeach.com.

We are especially excited for the Long Beach Pride Parade, taking place Sunday at 10 a.m. This cherished tradition brings joy to residents and visitors alike.

In 2024, when Long Beach Pride could no longer support the parade, the city stepped in to assume the financial and operational responsibility for the event. What was originally intended as a one-time commitment to support the organization as it reorganized has now continued for a third consecutive year, with the city funding and producing the parade. We are proud to have invested the time, resources and care needed to ensure this beloved event thrives.

Over the past couple of days, there has been a lot of positivity on social media about the parade and the many events taking place this weekend.

We look forward to celebrating pride together and honoring Long Beach’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community, an important part of the city’s identity, culture and overall fabulousness.

Official City of Long Beach Statement Regarding the Events this Weekend in Long Beach to Celebrate Pride [Friday, May 15, 5:26 p.m.]

This weekend is one of the busiest in the City of Long Beach as the community celebrates Pride and the LGBTQ+ community. Long Beach is proud to host the Pride Parade, which will occur as promised this year, and will feature 141 entries – the most in city history. Many Long Beach bars, restaurants and businesses will be fully activated, and the city has permitted five special events to activate additional spaces. Information on all that is happening this weekend in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community can be found at www.visitlongbeach.com/events/annual-events/long-beach-pride, which will be updated throughout the weekend. The city encourages everyone to have fun and celebrate safely.

Unfortunately, one event, the Long Beach Pride Festival, will not be able to take place this year as sufficient information to safely permit the event has not been made available by the event organizers. To accommodate those coming into town for that event, Long Beach will add additional transit options to connect downtown locations to the Bixby Park area so that there are many options available to celebrate in Long Beach. More information regarding these additional transit options will be shared at VisitLongBeach.com.

Over the past several months, the City of Long Beach’s Special Events team has worked closely with Long Beach Pride, the private organizers of the annual Pride Festival, to support their efforts to safely produce this year’s event, which was scheduled to take place on May 15, 16 and 17. While the City now manages and funds the Long Beach Pride Parade, the Pride Festival remains an independently organized, ticketed event that requires the submission of detailed operational, construction and public safety plans in order to be permitted to ensure safety of the attendees.

Despite continued collaboration and multiple deadline notices, the city did not receive the required documentation needed to complete safety reviews, inspect critical event infrastructure, such as the stage, electrical systems and tent, and emergency exiting plans to ensure compliance with public safety standards. With event programming scheduled to begin today, May 15 at 5 p.m. with Teen Pride and essential information still outstanding, there is no longer sufficient time to safely permit the festival this year.

The city shared this determination with Long Beach Pride on Thursday, May 14, and continued to work with the organization this morning, May 15, on the possibility of a shortened event this weekend. Despite these expedited and additional efforts, the organization was unable to provide the necessary documentation for safety reviews and inspections. As of 4:30 p.m. today, complete information was not received. Out of responsibility for the safety of attendees, staff and the broader community, the city cannot issue the permit and has directed the event organizers to not continue their event.

Any business that obtained a special business license and other necessary Health permits to be a part of the festival will receive a full refund from the city. The city will be reaching out directly to these impacted businesses and organizations. For questions related to the event, including ticket refunds, vendor participation fees and sponsorship information, please contact the event organizer, Long Beach Pride, at (562) 987-9191.

While the festival does not have a permit to move forward due to safety concerns, the Long Beach Pride Parade is unaffected and will proceed as planned on Sunday, May 17 starting at 10 a.m. The city is proud to fully fund and produce the parade, which continues to be a cornerstone celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. The city looks forward to joining residents, visitors and Long Beach Pride along the parade route. Many restaurants, bars and LGBTQ+-affirming businesses in vibrant Downtown Long Beach and along Broadway will also be hosting celebrations throughout the weekend, and the city encourages the community to show their support by visiting them. More Pride-related events taking place citywide can be found on VisitLongBeach.com.

The City of Long Beach remains deeply committed to uplifting and supporting LGBTQ+ community members year-round through meaningful action, investment and cultural recognition. This includes:

• Raising the LGBTQ+ Progress Pride Flag annually at City Hall as a symbol of inclusion and solidarity, reaffirmed through a City Council resolution.
• Honoring the transgender community through the annual Transgender Pride Flag raising.
• Being intentional about LGBTQ+ inclusion in many aspects of government practices and policies, which earned the City the recognition as one of the best cities in the nation for LGBTQ+ inclusion in municipal law and policy by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Municipal Equality Index for 14 consecutive years. In 2025, the city once again earned a perfect score, as well as a city record 18 total bonus points.
• Assuming production of the Pride Parade in 2023 to ensure its continuation when the prior organizer was unable to do so.
• Creating Harvey Milk Promenade Park and Equality Plaza which was the first park in the nation named after Harvey Milk. The park opened in May 2013 in the heart of Downtown Long Beach.
• Officially designating May 22 as Harvey Milk Day in the City of Long Beach.
• Maintaining the Harvey Milk Equality Wall, a landmark honoring local LGBTQ+ leaders. Community members continue to be inducted onto the wall in recognition of their advocacy on issues such as equal rights, AIDS research, entertainment, historic preservation, homelessness and community empowerment.
• Advancing the development of the city’s first LGBTQ+ Cultural District, with additional updates on next steps coming soon.

Long Beach is proud of its support and long-standing partnership with LGBTQ+ residents, leaders, nonprofits and businesses. That commitment continues. While the festival will not take place this year, the city continues to uplift celebrations, traditions and community spaces that honor LGBTQ+ history, culture and belonging.

We look forward to celebrating Pride with the community this weekend and throughout the year.