Pride: Out Loud!

When brave LGBTQIA+ people stood up to discrimination and police violence at the Stonewall Inn, New York, in June 1969, it led to the foundation of the Pride movement and today to June being recognised internationally as ‘Pride month’.

But with Copenhagen Pride happening in August, we are often asked why there are no events to mark ‘Pride month’ in June. And so this year we are doing something about it, creating a program of events with inspirational speakers from the global LGBTQIA+ community. It’s Pride: Out Loud!

Each week during June, we’ll bring a different speaker – LoudSpeaker, in fact – to Copenhagen. You can hear them at a big public event – like a TED Talk – where their lecture will be followed by a more intimate conversation with the audience. They’ll also meet with Danish politicians, embassies and community organisations.

LoudSpeakers 2025

We are very excited for Pride: Out Loud! and we can announce the incredible LoudSpeakers for 2025.

Brandon Wolf (he/him) is a civil rights activist and survivor of the Pulse nightclub attack in Florida in 2016. In 2019, he became the first survivor of the Pulse tragedy to testify before Congress and returned in 2022 to testify on the rise of anti-LGBTQIA+ hate violence before the House Oversight Committee. He will share his perspective on the current situation in the United States and the global impact this is having.

Vladi Luxuria (she/her) is an actor and campaigner and was the first openly trans member of parliament in Europe, when she was elected in Italy in 2006. She was an organiser of the first Pride in Rome in 1994 and her acting credits stretch back to 1991. During Pride: Out Loud!, Vladi will talk about her experiences and how the worsening situation for LGBTQIA+ people in Italy should be a warning for us all.

Yasmin Benoit (she/her) is a British model, multi-award-winning asexual activist, writer, speaker, media consultant and researcher. Described as the “unlikely face of asexuality” by Cosmopolitan Magazine, she quickly became a leading voice for the community after publicly coming out in 2017. She started the #ThisIsWhatAsexualLooksLike movement for diverse asexual visibility and representation and co-founded International Asexuality Day (April 6). Yasmin will talk about her experiences as an award-winning activist for ace visibility.

Rahul Upadhyay (they/them) is an Indian human rights activist and the founder and organiser of Gandhinagar Queer Pride and Ahmedabad Pride, and Co-President of InterPride, the international association of Pride organisers. They have supported thousands of queer individuals and rescued queer individuals from hostile environments. Their advocacy extends to tackling crimes against the queer community and their organization’s work led to a formal investigation into scams targeting LGBTQIA+ individuals on dating apps. Rahul will talk about their experience as an Asian activist in international organisations, and organising political Pride events in India.

Both Vladi Luxuria and Yasmin Benoit will also speak at the rainbow tent at Folkemødet, and in addition to public events all four speakers will speak at events hosted by Copenhagen Pride’s partners.

Dates and further information about the events will be published on Monday 7 April, and tickets will go on sale the same day.