WorldPride 2025 Organisers Consider Transgender Travel Warning Over Trump Policies

Organisers of WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C. are confronting an unprecedented and painful dilemma, the possibility of issuing a travel advisory to transgender attendees, particularly international travellers.

The concerns come amid growing fears of discrimination and legal obstacles under the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQIA+ policies.

Ryan Bos, Executive Director of the Capital Pride Alliance, which is leading this year’s WorldPride celebration in the U.S. capital, told regional officials on Wednesday that safety concerns for transgender individuals could compel the group to publicly advise against travel.

“It’s possible that we may actually issue a statement telling trans folks internationally not to come, or if they come, they come at their own risk,” Bos said during a meeting of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

“Those are the things that we will be discussing with the D.C. government and our partners to determine how best to communicate that to ensure that we’re getting the resources to the folks that need it.”

The heightened concerns follow the Trump administration’s February policy change, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed U.S. consular officials to deny visas to transgender applicants whose documents do not match their sex assigned at birth.

Human rights advocates warn the measure could functionally ban many transgender and non-binary people from entering the United States, a move that Germany has cited in its own formal travel warning for queer citizens.

“These difficult conversations are happening because the safety of trans people must come before anything else,” Bos told The Advocate.

“At the end of the day, folks are going to have to make decisions that they feel most comfortable with… And we do want to do our due diligence to provide as much support here in D.C. on-site as possible.”

WorldPride 2025, which will run from June 1 – 16, is expected to draw more than three million attendees, including over two million overnight visitors.

A major rally and protest march are scheduled on the National Mall on June 8.

Organisations withdrawing from Worldpride 2025

However, concerns about the U.S. political climate have already prompted withdrawals.

Egale Canada, the country’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation, announced it will not participate, and InterPride, the international Pride network, has issued its own travel caution.

Still, local officials are standing by Pride organisers. D.C. Council member Charles Allen said, “Those warnings rest and fall squarely with the incredibly shameful tactics we’ve seen in language from the federal administration,” he said.

“I’m disheartened to hear that, but I hope you also recognise you’ve got partners in this room that want to be right there with you to make sure this is a wonderful, successful event, a safe event, that’s going to take place across the whole region.”

Bos reaffirmed Capital Pride’s commitment to inclusion with the launch of March for All, a new initiative in partnership with Outright International.

The campaign allows individuals unable to travel to D.C. to sign up and have their names carried by participants. “Think of it as wearing a racer’s bib,” Bos said. “Folks who don’t feel safe traveling here can sign up online, and someone will march for them — visibly, proudly, in the streets.”

Despite international setbacks, Bos believes the urgency of the moment demands resilience, “Cancelling, moving it is a sign of retreat” he stated.

“It doesn’t give folks in our community who are looking for — especially in the light of all the DEI repercussions — that debate — folks are yearning to know who is there to fight for them, who is there to fight for us. And if we’re unwilling to fight for ourselves, how can we expect corporations to stand firm? How can we expect folks in government, in Congress, to stand up?”

“Providing safe spaces for people to celebrate and be joyful is also a form of protest” he reminded people.

“The fact that we’re dancing in the streets, whether it be the parade or the festival, we’re protesting — because we’re being told that we don’t have value, we’re being told that we should not have pride in who we are — and the act of doing so is the biggest way to protest that we can.”