After 30 years of supporting the yearly LGBTQ pride festival, Anheuser-Busch, a big brewing company, has decided to stop sponsoring the St. Louis PrideFest.
The parent company of Bud Light and Budweiser, according to KSDK, is no longer sponsoring the 45th annual PrideFest function in St. Louis, leaving the Gay firm with about$ 150, 000 less than it had raised in 2024.
Pride St. Louis announced in a recent Instagram post that the LGBTQ organization would be launching a” #45for45″ fundraising campaign to raise money ahead of this year’s St. Louis event.
In a media release posted on the firm’s Instagram page, Pride St. Louis President Marty Zuniga stated,” While we are seriously disappointed that Anheuser-Busch has chosen to step down from supporting PrideFest this time, we remain optimistic that the group will move up where they have stepped down.”
Zuniga continued,” The# 45for45 campaign is an opportunity for everyone, whether you’ve marched in the parade, attended our activities, or simply believe in equality, to help ensure that these initiatives continue for years to come.” It is clear to both the table and the area that ending PrideFest is not an option.
This month’s LGBTQ event will take place on June 28 and 29 at Soldier’s Memorial Park in St. Louis, according to PrideFest’s site.
This group is trying to get erased right now, and DEI is becoming a bad word in this land, and we need these lovers more than ever, Zuniga said in response to the lack of LGBTQ endorsements for this year’s future event.
The St. Louis PrideFest administrators were “devastated” after being informed that Anheuser-Busch would not be sponsoring this week’s LGBTQ event, according to the Pride St. Louis leader.
We tried to work with them and all of our partners as we begin preparing for PrideFest 2025 and learned this about a couple of weeks back,” Zuniga said. It was just fascinating that our longest lover of 30 years, who had been an ally to us, simply decided to leave, essentially saying that they no longer see the value in it.
Anheuser-Busch even withdrawn its support from San Francisco Pride, according to SFGATE, in addition to pulling its aid from Pride St. Louis. San Francisco Pride has lost numerous endorsements from diverse businesses, according to the store, which has left them with no$ 300, 000 in cash.
