Pride is traditionally the time for queers to be messy and text our most toxic exes, but there’s only one I want back in my DMs this year: corporate sponsors.
Oh how I used to sneer at the rainbow-coloured logos washing over LinkedIn like a gaudy tsunami. The endless merch and collabs designed to attract the booming pink pound. It used to feel like you couldn’t move for a LGBTQ+ themed advert chirpily reminding us that Love Wins etc.
Pride was a protest, I liked to snarkily remind everyone who would listen to an insufferable baby bisexual back in the 2010s. A reminder of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, all we fought for and still fight for. Not a place for companies to pinkwash their reputations. In 2018, our biggest worry felt like British Airways sponsoring Brighton Pride when the airline faced accusations it was helping to deport queer migrants.
But that was when there was enough pro-LGBTQ+ consensus that we could push back against sponsors. The UK has plunged down the rankings for LGBTQ+ rights in Europe in the decade since 2015, from number one to 22nd in 2025, in part due to the Supreme Court ruling rolling back protections for trans people.
Now it feels like political will to protect our rights has evaporated, public opinion has done a total 180, and brands are rushing for the rainbow exit, binning the colourful flags as they go. It’s no longer “on brand” to care about equality, and it’s the queer community that suffers for it now the money has dried up.
Funding from corporate sponsors has fallen by 50 per cent in 2025, according to the UK Pride Organisers Network. Liverpool Pride has been cancelled for 2025 due to “difficulty securing national and local funding”. Eight out of 10 advertisers have pulled out of advertising in Gay Times in 2025, CEO Tag Warner revealed on TikTok yesterday.
Even events that have secured funding are weathering pot shots from politicians. Stafford Pride organisers are demanding an apology after Reform UK council leader Ian Cooper said “we are not going to spend taxpayers’ money on that”, despite it having secured its own backing from grants and private sponsors. It’s deeply concerning that Cooper seemed to think debasing Pride could win popular support.
Pride is also taking a beating in the US under Donald Trump’s second term. As companies took a hatchet to their DEI initiatives, fewer brands want to paste their colourful logo on floats and limited edition shirts. Mastercard has pulled its corporate sponsorship for New York Pride 2025, along with Nissan and PepsiCo, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Target, which also pulled its support for NYC Pride, basically phoned it in with its annual Pride collection this year. The chain store also canned its much vaunted DEI initiatives after Trump’s elections. This was a company that once came out swinging for trans people in 2017 with its inclusive bathroom policy, despite boycott threats from the Right.
Even American dog toy subscription company BarkBox proved its bark was worse than its bite where Pride is concerned. After some anti-LGBTQ+ campaigners complained over its Pride-themed June add-on kit, leaked internal communications suggested BarkBox planned to pause advertising the collection, which included “Slay the Dragon Queen” and “Daddy Dolphin”. The CEO has since apologised for the “unacceptable” and “hurtful” leaked message and promised to donate 100 pc of the collection’s revenue to LGBTQ+ causes.
Even if we always thought that most of the brands supporting Pride were doing it to make themselves look good, it still feels like a kick in the teeth to pull support when the going gets tough for queer people. Fairweather corporate Pride-ers should be aware — us gays can hold a grudge.
There are a few brands that have remained steadfast in their commitment to the cause. Vodka brand Absolut has been spending its advertising in queer media since 1981, making regular donations alongside their annual limited edition rainbow bottle. Converse released its 11th annual Proud to Be collection of shoes, and Levi’s has launched a clothing line created by its LGBTQ+ designers.
But it’s the big picture that frightens me — the idea that execs in boardrooms are looking at trend forecasts and seeing Pride and queer communities as a losing bet. That a rainbow logo could make you a target of an energised far-right, and they’d rather not fight that PR battle.
Although I once sneered at corporate Pride, the fact they won’t even pay lip service now is scary. If huge companies with all the money and the power are frightened, think of how it feels for everyday queer people.
Even if they all desert us, Pride came long before the corporate sponsors, and we can and will survive without them. We’re nothing if not resourceful. Look at Budapest, where the Hungarian government has moved to ban Pride altogether. Protesters turned out dressed all in monochrome to celebrate “Grey Pride”, a satirical celebration of sameness.
I’d rather spend my devalued pink pounds in London’s independent gay bars and on merch from queer makers rather than buying from big companies. If businesses don’t want to march alongside us that’s their prerogative. But we’ll remember who the cowards were when the far right is defeated and they come crawling back.
India Block is a London Standard columnist
