Long Beach cancels Pride Festival over missing safety documents

The City of Long Beach canceled its annual Pride Festival scheduled for this weekend Friday, saying organizers failed to submit required safety documentation, though the Sunday parade will proceed as planned.

The last-minute announcement — made the same Friday the event was to begin — leaves Southern California's LGBTQ+ community without its flagship annual festival, exposing a permitting breakdown that Long Beach Pride says city leaders must urgently resolve.

The city announced that this year's festival would not proceed because organizers did not supply documents needed to complete required safety reviews. "Unfortunately, one event, the Long Beach Pride Festival, will not be able to take place this year as sufficient information to safely permit the event has not been made available by the event organizers," the City of Long Beach said in an official statement, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

Officials said the missing records prevented inspections of the event's most critical structures. "Despite continued collaboration and multiple deadline notices, the city did not receive the required documentation needed to complete safety reviews, inspect critical event infrastructure, such as the stage, electrical systems and tent, and emergency exiting plans to ensure compliance with public safety standards," the city said.

Long Beach Pride pushed back, calling on officials to act immediately. "We call on the City of Long Beach to immediately engage in good faith with Long Beach Pride, community leaders, public safety partners, and elected officials to identify a path forward that preserves the festival and protects the community," the organization said in a statement.

The group also called directly on elected officials to intervene. "We call on our Mayor Rex Richardson and the city council members to make the Pride Festival happen. We ask that our city leaders stand with the community at this critical moment and help ensure that Long Beach remains a beacon of equality, safety, and pride," Long Beach Pride said.

Friday's Teen Pride event, set to begin at 5 p.m., was also affected by the cancellation. Local LGBTQ+-affirming restaurants, bars and businesses said they would host alternative weekend celebrations in place of the festival, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

The Sunday parade along Broadway is set to step off at 10 a.m. and remains unaffected, as it requires less complex infrastructure permitting than the full festival.