International World Pride attendance way lower than expected

Sunday marked the final day of World Pride 2025, which was held in Washington, DC this year, the first time in the US since 2019. Attendance numbers for the bi-annual festival, especially among international attendees, were reportedly down.

Ashley Smith, board president of Capital Pride Alliance, told the Associated Press that international numbers were noticeably down, with some would-be attendees opting not to travel to the US in protest of President Donald Trump’s policies or over fears of harassment. 

"That should disturb us and mobilize us," Smith said, who attended a rally and protest march at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday morning along with thousands of others.

Heading into the final weekend, which included the Capital Pride Parade, the BBC reported that event organizers dropped their estimated crowd size to around one-third of previous estimates. Organizers had originally projected around three million visitors. 

Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance, told NPR, "We anticipated bookings to be much higher at this time for WorldPride and do know that the climate, the concern for folks internationally to travel to the United States is real."

Montreal-based data analyst Alice Siregar, who is transgender, had initially planned on attending the event but was concerned about traveling to the US. "It is a risk to now come over and especially as a trans woman," Siregar said.

World Pride was last held in Sydney, Australia in 2023. Monash University human rights law professor Paula Gerber, who attended both the 2023 and 2025 events, told Australia’s ABC, "It couldn't be a starker contrast. Sydney was a celebration. We were really rejoicing in how far we'd come with human rights protection. Here, there's no celebration. This is a call to action. This is realisation of how quickly our rights can be wound back."