In full bloom to celebrate the creativity and resilience of queer communities, Fierté Montréal Festival launches programming for its 19th edition, with an unprecedented scale of artistic and cultural offerings, mobilizing over 300 organizations committed to progress on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights in the face of rising hatred and oppression. Fierté Montréal Festival will take place from July 31 to August 10 in venues gravitating around three hubs: Urban, Village, and Olympic.
“Driven by a strong presence in the Place des Festivals and Olympic Park areas, this year we’re putting special emphasis on the Village, where an enhanced program featuring local artists has been developed with a bouquet of copresenters. On all our stages –outdoor and indoor, as well as during dozens of community activities, the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities will shine and inspire us all,” enthused Simon Gamache, Fierté Montréal Executive Director
The Pride Parade, celebrating queer life
Under the theme “Blossom here, now!” the Pride Parade returns to René-Lévesque Boulevard on August 10 to celebrate 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and highlight advocacy demands. In the face of today’s challenges, “Blossom here, now!” is an invitation asserting our right to grow, to fully shine, and to love freely; it’s a celebration of our identities in a meadow where every struggle is a bud of hope.
Chris Ngabonziza, Director of Programming and Artistic Development, mentioned: “For this 19th edition, we have gone further in our approach to inclusion and representation – continuing the work of the last three editions, and which shows through our three programming hubs. More than 250 artists, the vast majority of whom are from 2SLGBTQIA+ and racialized communities, will be at the heart of this edition. A programming that mirrors Montréal’s diversity. We invite everyone – from here and elsewhere, to come and experience it with us.”
The Village Hub, revamped
At the heart of The Village, the 2SLGBTQIA+ neighborhood, an ambitious and powerful program will unfurl. In collaboration with the M.A.D. Festival and the SDC Village, the first edition of the Rainbow Market will feature 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, artists, craftspeople and designers in festive ephemeral spaces from August 1 to 3. The Dovato Stage, a nomadic stage that will roam the neighborhood throughout the Festival, will host up-and-coming queer and racialized artists, in collaboration with a series of artistic collectives and Village venues. The popular comedy evening at Le National, Des gags et des paillettes, presented by La Presse, returns in a double bill on August 5 and 6, hosted by the duo of Phil Lacroix and Yann Aspirot—alias Greg and Tom in the web series Mon Bro— accompanied by a troupe of local artists, including Coco Belliveau, Tranna Wintour and Magalie Saint-Vincent.
Community Days will be back on August 8 and 9 on Sainte-Catherine Street East. They invite the public to discover some one hundred organizations and community groups, businesses, sports and socio-cultural clubs involved with the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
The Jardins Gamelin will also be decked out in Pride colors on July 31, August 1, 2 and 6, thanks to a collaboration with the Partenariat du Quartier des Spectacles. Fierté Littéraire returns with a series of events showcasing queer literary creation. The Festival closes with L’After T-Dance (August 10), presented by romeo’s gin, at Sainte-Catherine Hall.
The Urban Hub: diversity in downtown Montréal
For the second year running, the Festival Fierté Montréal will bright up downtown. As the epicenter of Montréal cultural life, the Quartier des spectacles will host 2SLGBTQIA+ artists and their allies at the Loto-Québec Stage on the Esplanade Tranquille. A succession of free shows will feature Indigenous artists with Lumière des Nations, presented by Fugues, and trans artists with Transcendance (July 31); an evening dedicated to women of sexual diversity and gender plurality with FeminiX, presented by Rogers (August 1); a thumping tribute to nightlife culture and queer revolutions with Mundo Disko (August 2); and signature ImmiX variety show, with beloved artists such as Lisa LeBlanc, Gabrielle Destroismaisons, Martine St-Clair, Calamine, Sofia Nolin and Lennikim, sharing the stage with up-and-coming artists (August 3).
The Festival is back at Place des Arts for one hilarious night with Katherine Levac et invité·e·s : L’été de ma Fierté! (August 1). CinéQueer, a co-presentation with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), will offer three days of screenings at the Alanis Obomsawin Theatre (August 4, 5, and 6), in collaboration with the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma and the image+nation Festival. An online component will be accessible throughout the Festival, in collaboration with image+nation.
Nightlife lovers and party people of all stripes will be pleased to see well-known 2SLGBTQIA+ club nights will throw special Fierté Montréal 2025 editions. Watch out for more on the official after-parties hosted during the two Festival weekends; this year, a total of nine (9) different soirées are being thrown at Club Soda, the Satosphère, and the Espace SAT at the Société des arts technologiques.
Olympic Hub: mainstage events
As of August 7, the Olympic Park’s Esplanade will host the large-scale free outdoor shows, attracting festival-goers numbered in the tens of thousands. The world’s biggest free outdoor drag show, La Soirée 100% Drag, hosted by Barbada and Rita Baga, opens with a focus on local drag royalty and an array of drag performers from the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchises.
On August 8, the TD Stage lights up with DistinXion, a show devoted to seeing queer women take centre-stage more than anywhere else, with Fefe Dobson, Charlotte Day Wilson and G Flip.
Xcellence, a celebration of 2SLGBTQIA+ racialized communities and their allies, features Iniko, Bilal Hassani and Ivy Queen (August 9).
On August 10, the city’s biggest dance floor becomes the much-anticipated Méga T-Dance, with major DJs such as Black Flamingo and Marti Frieson on the decks.
Community Projects by and for 2SLGBTQIA+ people
In 2025, over 30 projects by 2SLGBTQIA+ community organizations were awarded funding by Fierté Montréal and will take place between May 18 and August 10 in Montréal, but also in cities such as Rivière-du-Loup, Val-d’Or, Trois-Rivières, Trois-Pistoles, Saguenay, and Mont-Laurier.
Check out the diverse and embracing program of Fierté Montréal Festival on its website and get to know all the components of our 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
