Celebrity Cruises have just become the first cruise line to be the official corporate sponsor of Miami’s Gay Pride Festival.
During the event, which took place on 7-9 April at Lummus Park in South Beach, Celebrity hosted two festival tents that promoted the line as the premier choice for LGBTQ travellers.
In a sea of rainbow flags, Celebrity raised funds for Pridelines, a local non-profit organisation servicing the LGBTQ community through a series of educational and wellness programmes.
“Honestly, it’s humbling. I can’t believe that it came from this – five or six years ago – and now we’re finally here doing Pride,” said Royal Caribbean’s Director of Diversity & Inclusion and driving force behind Celebrity’s Executive Diversity Council, Grant Van Ulbrich.
He further expressed his delight with how far the programme has come over the years: “I hope that we’re representing our employees onboard and, more importantly, the guests that we serve.”
Ulbrich was keen to point out though that this will not be Celebrity’s only sponsorship of this kind, but in fact guests can expect more corporate sponsorships and LGBTQ initiatives beyond Pride with the possibility of diversity summits at sea.
“We started with our home, Miami; now we’ll set our sights for San Francisco, New York, London, Sydney, Shanghai and Hong Kong.”
The event also featured a mini-production show on the main stage, headlined by Savannah Smith, the singer and dancer who has starred on almost all of the line’s fleet of 11 ships. Donors could play a Spin-the-Wheel game for a chance to win a free cruise or receive an official sponsor t-shirt designed with a silhouette of Celebrity Silhouette on a rainbow graphic.
However, the cruise line are not finished in South Florida just yet as they will be hosting non-profit Save Dade’s annual “Champions of Equality” event, slated for June 16th. The event will honour local figures who have championed LGBTQ awareness in South Florida.
Moving attentions to the seas, the 8th annual Miami Pride Cruise will take place on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas which departs on the 10th April. The 4 night cruise will be visiting the Key West, Nassau and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island.
What are your thoughts on today’s news? Do you think more cruise lines should partner with LGBTQ or any alternative communities? Which communities would you like to see other cruise lines partner with? Leave us your comments!
