Press Releases

Montréal’s Pride Parade:

Exceeding all expectations, 75,000 spectators and more than 1,500 participants at this year’s colourful celebration!

Montréal, August 24, 2008 — Montréal’s Gay Pride Parade welcomed over 75,000 spectators on René-Lévesque Boulevard East on Sunday, August 17. More than 1,500 participants took part in the parade, organized by the Montréal Pride Celebrations, including 75 groups representing community organizations, sports teams and local businesses. This year’s theme, “Here comes the circus”, was embraced by the majority of parade participants, bringing a festive atmosphere of originality and innovation to the one-kilometre parade route, which was decorated with the colours of the Celebrations for the first time this year. Following the event, spectators and participants gathered at Émilie-Gamelin Park for the popular t-dance, hosted by DJs Stéfane Lippé and Mark Anthony, with the participation of the RadicalQueens2008.

“Participation exceeded all of our expectations, with more than 200,000 people taking part over the 4-days of festivities,” said Mr. Éric Pineault, President of the Montréal Pride Celebrations. “We are proud of the work accomplished by our team of employees and volunteers, as well as the support of our numerous partners, who did not hesitate to become associated with the event once again this year. The parade is an important event for the community, as it symbolizes our advancements in human rights and our continued work for social acceptance.”
 
Community Day
Saturday’s Community Day welcomed a record number of participants, with 110 community groups taking part. More than 35,000 people came to Montréal’s Gay Village on Saturday afternoon to join in the celebrations.

Special Awards
For the second consecutive year in Montréal Pride history, prizes were awarded to the most exciting contingents in various categories.

Awards were given to the following winners:

• Katherine Saint-Jean  |  “Most Crowd-Pleasing Float”
• Séro Zéro  |  “Best Interpretation of the 2008 Theme”
• Le Complexe Sky  |  “Best Choreography by a Group”
• GLAM (Gay and Lesbian Asians Montreal)  |  “Best Costumes and Make-up”
• Coalition jeunesse (Adosgays Québec, Aglebus, AlterHéros, l'Alternative-UDM, la Coalition Jeunesse montréalaise de lutte à l'homophobie, JASE, Jeunesse Lambda, Projet 10, Queer McGill, REDS-UQAM and Rejaq)  |  “Community Float or Contingent of the Year”
• Le Complexe Sky  |  “Corporate Float of the Year”

The jury also awarded two Special Jury Prizes, one for make-up to Cabaret Mado’s lion and one for costumes to the giraffes of Aigle Noir.

“The 2009 Montréal Pride Celebrations will take place next summer from August 13 to 16,” concluded Mr. Pineault. Celebrations LGBTA is proud to count on the support of its major partners:

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Éric Pineault, President
epineault@fiertemontrealpride.com
C. 514 616-7170

About Célébrations LGBTA Montréal
Célébrations LGBTA Montréal was formed by the LGBT community, following the Divers/Cité decision, in May 2007, to cease the organization of the Pride Parade and Community Day.   Célébrations LGBTA Montréal (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders and their Allies) is a non-profit organization created in June 2007 that proudly organizes the Community Day and the Montréal gay and lesbian Pride Parade. The strong support provided by the business community, the City of Montréal, the Borough of Ville-Marie, the SDC du Village (the Village merchants and business association) and more than 100 groups and community associations resulted in the highly successful Montréal Pride Celebrations in 2007.

 www.fiertemontrealpride.org