It’ll be a night to remember — Cyndi Lauper is headlining WorldPride’s opening ceremony in June alongside Ciara and Todrick Hall.
Whoopi Goldberg will host the ceremony, which will kick off on June 26 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
"I’ve been a longtime advocate of the LGBTQIA+ community and this year marks a pivotal moment within our storied history and fight for equality,” Goldberg said in a statement. "Hosting a WorldPride event is an absolute honor and I am delighted to be a part of the Opening Ceremony in June."
Lauper has been an advocate for women, those living with HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQ community and said in a statement that she "can’t wait" to celebrate with the community from across the world.
Hall, who rose to fame on "American Idol," is a singer, rapper, actor, director and choreographer who does drag, and Ciara is a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter who has topped charts with "Goodies," "Ride," "Oh," "1, 2 Step" and others.
Every ticket sold to the 10,000-seat event will go toward the Ali Forney Center, Immigration Equality and SAGE.
Tickets drop on Friday, April 12 at 10 a.m. on nycpride.org.
This is the first time New York City has hosted WorldPride. Every few years, InterPride, the international body that connects Pride events around the world, selects one city to host WorldPride. New York City was chosen to host the event in 2019, followed by Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2021.
It’s also the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, when LGBTQ patrons of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village clashed with police who had been increasingly raiding the bar and making arrests related to New York’s sodomy laws. The riot touched off six days of demonstrations around the Stonewall Inn and is considered the cornerstone of what has become the modern-day LGBTQ rights movement.
The combination of World Pride and the march is expected to draw a record 3 million spectators.
There is an influx of LGBTQ-centric celebrations, events and exhibitions this year, including more than 50 rallies, lectures, parties, film screenings, conferences, panels and concerts.
