Fierté Montréal's 2025 festival line-up invites community to celebrate and unite

CTV News

3 days ago

As Fierté Montréal prepares to launch its 2025 edition, organizers say the 11-day event is as much a celebration as it is a call for solidarity and vigilance.
The festival, which kicks off from July 31 to Aug. 11, promises more than 250 artists and 120 events spread across three main hubs in the city, including a renewed focus on programming in Montreal's Village.
Fierté Montréal Executive Director Simon Gamache said this year's festivities are an invitation for LGBTQ2S+ people to take up space and celebrate amid what he calls an increasingly hostile environment.
'We're in a very difficult context right now, with the rights of the community being attacked,' said Gamache. 'There's a lot of hate speech on social media and even in public spaces. That's concerning, but it's also why Pride is so important — it's a moment to come together, to celebrate, to see and meet our communities.'
The festival's official program was unveiled on Wednesday, highlighting everything from drag shows and film screenings to its annual high heel race.
Among the new additions this year is the launch of the Rainbow Market, an event spotlighting LGBTQ2S+ creators and bringing added visibility to life in the heart of the Village.
Simon Gamache
Fierté Montréal Executive Director Simon Gamache says the 2025 festivities are an invitation for LGBTQ2S+ people to take space and celebrate. (Laurence Brisson Dubreuil/CTV News)
Wild Pride
As the festival moves forward, Fierté Montréal has faced significant criticism this year.
In recent months, about 20 groups publicly cut ties with the organization, with some accusing the festival of fostering a toxic culture, among other claims.
Some of those former member groups have since organized an alternative festival, Wild Pride, which kicks off on July 30, one day before Pride's events are slated to begin.
Nevertheless, Fierté Montréal organizers say their focus remains on uplifting queer voices.
Rameez Karim
Rameez Karim talks about his event for Fierté Montréal 2025. (Laurence Brisson Dubreuil/CTV News)
Bringing people together
Among the featured performers set to take over the stage in the Village is Rameez Karim, a Bollywood dancer and choreographer who is curating an event blending South Asian dance, drag and storytelling.
'This will include performances by Veils of Bollywood, South Asian drag artists and a dance workshop, all aimed at showing how we celebrate our identity and authenticity in these spaces,' said Karim, who noted many of the participating artists trace their roots to countries like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal.
'To bring that culture and community into the Village, and for all of us to come together, exchange and learn from each other, this is what makes us stronger as a community,' he added.
Karim said initiatives like this one are about more than visibility.
'The queer community includes so many different subcultures, and everyone wants to feel heard and feel like they belong,' he said.
Chris Ngabonziza, director of programming and artistic development with Fierté Montréal, said this year, the focus is on refining existing strengths rather than starting over.
'We're taking everything we've developed over the past three years, but delivering better versions of it,' he said.
Fierté Montréal
Fierté Montréal unveils its 2025 line-up. (Laurence Brisson Dubreuil/CTV News)
The Parade
The Pride parade, typically the festival's biggest draw, is set to close the celebrations on Aug. 11.
It is expected to bring together hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators.
This year's theme, 'Blossom Here, Now,' aims to encourage queer and trans people to claim their right to exist fully — to thrive, express themselves and love without fear.
Organizers say it's a rallying cry for presence, visibility and self-acceptance.
Fierté Montréal
Fierté Montréal unveils its 2025 line-up. (Laurence Brisson Dubreuil/CTV News)
Political demands
Beyond the festivities, organizers say they are also renewing their political demands — a list that has remained largely unchanged since 2022. Among them is a long-standing call to decriminalize HIV non-disclosure.
'There was momentum under the previous federal government, and then it just disappeared,' said Gamache. 'The demands haven't changed because things aren't moving.'
For longtime Montreal culture journalist Richard Burnett, one of the original organizers of Pride's predecessor Divers/Cité, the festival still carries its weight as both a celebration and protest.
'Pride is really important because tolerance is not acceptance. Tolerance is hypocrisy,' said Burnett. 'Even in wonderful queer-positive cities like Montreal, we need to stay vigilant.'
He recalled the early days of the movement, when Divers/Cité operated with a shoestring budget of $42,000 in 1994.
Today, Fierté Montréal hosts one of the largest Pride events in the country, and that growth, Burnett said, reflects both the progress and the stakes.
'One thing that hasn't changed is the power of Pride to help young people come out, to find their people on parade day,' he said. 'It's also a way to honour our elders who paved the way for us to be able to walk the streets at Pride in the daytime. It was a very different world for them.'