With our sold-out marketplace, parade, and VIP tent, along with our general attendees, we know that our attendance would be higher than that number.” According to Fergerson, the Atlanta Pride Committee filed its permit applications back in March, but due to the traditional size of the festival, it falls under the city’s current moratorium. With Covid cases increasing ten-fold in Georgia since July 1, along with the overwhelm of our local hospital systems, the city of Atlanta has also maintained its moratorium on events of over 50,000 people. In a video posted on Atlanta Pride Committee’s Facebook page, executive director Jamie Fergerson said, “Though we’ve been working all year to plan a safe, in-person celebration, and as much as we want to get together, we know that with the delta surge, gathering together right now is just not safe for the community we love.
Reaction was swift on Wednesday as the Atlanta Pride Committee took to social media to announce, due to spiking Covid-19 rates as the delta variant continues running rampant through the state, it would cancel its large in-person events scheduled for October 9 and 10, including the festival in Piedmont Park and its popular parade, for the second year in a row. Photograph courtesy of Atlanta Pride Committee A float from a previous Atlanta Pride parade
