It’s Pride Month inside the metaverse and out! June is packed with events in Decentraland, Horizon Worlds, AltspaceVR, Sandbox, and beyond. Activities include virtual parades with floats, costume contests, panel talks, parties, DJs and other entertainment, and immersive experiences to celebrate and amplify the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Decentraland Pride Highlights
Decentraland’s Pride Festival Land opened on June 11. The Pride parade runs continuously until the end of June, so you can catch a ride on one of the floats, even if they weren’t in Decentraland for parade day. Contributors and entertainers include Thalia, Immersive Kind, and Known Origin. Original Penguin will dispense its Pride Collection wearables in festival booths that replenish and change daily.
New York City Pride Livestream
On June 24, the two-day Pride festival in Brooklyn will be live-streamed into Decentral
and on the Metapride Stage. It will feature performances from Galantis, Above & Beyond, Aquaria, Gottmik, Violet Chachki, SG Lewis, Spencer Brown, LP Giobbi, Ty Sunderland, and 20+ artists and performers.
Panel Discussions
Decentraland will also host a Pride Panel Series to promote learning, growth, discussion, and networking. The series will consist of a panel with media celebrities and queer icons hosted by curators at numerous locations throughout Decentraland. The keynote speaker is David Cash of Cash Labs, Curator for the Decentraland Foundation.
Mastercard’s Pride Plaza
Mastercard’s Pride Plaza in Decentraland will include candid conversations with LGBTQIA+ thought-leaders and a showcase of unique NFT wearables from LGBTQIA+ artists as part of their Your True Self is Priceless campaign. Throughout the month, Mastercard will host ongoing events and activities, including the opportunity to take a true selfie on a virtual rendering of Mastercard’s real-life NYC Pride float and to travel in style via their flight cannon.
Horizon Worlds Pride Highlights
Explore the future of the LGBTQIA+ community in immersive spaces through Meta’s Pride World Hub coming June 21. It will include communal and private discussion areas, games, and other interactive activities in collaboration with Meta’s Creative Shop and world creators RhondaX and SKitter.
True Self World also drops on June 21 and is a social experience that allows people to explore, connect and celebrate their true selves in virtual reality. True Self World will serve as an ongoing virtual space where members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies can meet and interact. As part of the, Your True Self is Priceless campaign, Mastercard asks members of the LGBTQIA+ community to write candid, handwritten letters to their younger selves during any time in their journey to embracing their true selves however they choose. These heartfelt messages will celebrate the positive power of truth and authenticity and will be part of a virtual, immersive exhibition in Horizon Worlds and Decentraland.
AltspaceVR Pride Highlights
On June 17, Microsoft invites everyone to join our Pride Has No Borders metaverse event. Learn about the state of LGBTQIA+ rights in a virtual world from activists, players, and advocates from LGBTQIA+ communities at Microsoft, Team Xbox, and organizations like the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA World) and OutRight Action International. Immerse yourself in Pride history in a metaverse space.
Sandbox Pride Highlights
NYX Professional Makeup announced its Pride 2022 campaign, Paint Your Own Story. In collaboration with People of Crypto (POC), the brand will celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with month-long activities in Sandbox, featuring metaverse and IRL experiences and live performances culminating in the Sandbox Pride parade on June 24. This campaign includes a drop of 8,430 nonfungible token avatars that incorporate over 36 skin shades and aim to encompass every ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity
. NYX will donate 100% of the NFT proceeds to the Los Angeles LGBT Center, up to $50,000.
As Pride month unfurls, we hope to see more VR events announced. Pride is about being authentic inside and out, so celebrate yourself and your unique life. Pride events in the metaverse are fun for everyone and open doors for those who live in remote or intolerant areas. Sliice Marketing is the first global metaverse marketing agency. Our developers and content creators team can make your Pride dreams come true. Need a custom world, float, or wearable in a hurry? Contact us today and claim your Sliice of the metaverse.
Catherine Oaks