SAN DIEGO — San Diego Pride is roaring back this year and it's going to be bigger and better than ever. Organizers said it's a great way to spread love and show pride for the LGBTQ+ community. But it also brings a lot of money into our local economy.
San Diego's biggest events
San Diego Pride Executive Director Fernando Lopez said in 2018, they brought in nearly $30 million dollars to the City of San Diego.
Pride events create an economic boom for San Diego, and they're usually scheduled one week before Comic-Con.
"Happy to be the little brother to Comic-Con, we're huge fans," said Lopez.
According to San Diego Pride, their festival and parade comes second only to Comic-Con in their economic impact.
Lopez said they study the economic impact of pride every four years. "We had about a $13 million economic impact 8 years ago. Four years ago, it was almost $30 million. So this year we're hoping to see this year maybe a $40 or $45 million dollar economic impact for the region," Lopez said.
Economic impact
And as for where that money goes in San Diego, Lopez said, "It's actually those minority and marginalized owned businesses that really feel that economic impact. When you buy a ticket, when you buy a beverage at one of our events, when you make a donation to San Diego Pride, you're supporting that year-round education and advocacy work that our organization and our community really, really need."
Lopez also shared insight on visitors to San Diego for the Pride festivities saying, "Only about 30% of those quarter of a million folks that come every single year for Pride are from the city of San Diego. The rest travel from all over the world," Lopez said.
Safety concerns
Eric Hall and Shawn Huston said they're excited about Pride and what it will bring to the community but they have safety concerns. Hall shared, "If I'm secure about the security of the parade. If there's plain clothes police officers, if there's uniformed, and it's known that they're going to be there and they're on the rooftops, I'm more inclined to go out and then spend a lot of money."
Huston added he believes coming to Pride to celebrate is an act of bravery itself.
Jason Kordestani from Urban Mo's Bar and Grill said businesses along University Avenue are gearing up for the big crowds. "We order enough to get through the entire thing without running out of people's favorite products. And every single staff member is working every single day," Kordestani said.
Lopez with San Diego Pride also says while they're getting ready to bring in crowds and millions of dollars to the area, they're also contending with inflation as their expenses to put on the festival and parade went up 30% to 40% across the board.
San Diego Pride activities run July 9 through July 17. For a full list of events, click here.
To buy tickets to San Diego Pride, click here.
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