The Trump-era backlash against DEI is prompting companies to pull sponsorships from UK Pride festivals, leading to funding crises and event cancellations. [...] 

Three quarters of more than 100 Pride organizers have seen a decline in corporate partnerships this year and a quarter of them have seen funding from sponsorships drop over 50%, according to exclusive data from the UK Pride Organisers Network (UKPON). That’s hit smaller parades particularly hard, with several canceling events that were planned for Pride Month, which is celebrated globally each June in memory of the Stonewall protests.

Sponsorship withdrawals have been particularly pronounced from American businesses, according to Pride in London. [...] 

In the interim, LGBTQ+ organizations will have to adapt to the new environment, said Ian Howley, CEO of health and wellbeing charity LGBT HERO. Even if larger brands ask to sponsor events again once the dust settles, he said the community won’t easily forgive firms for abandoning them this year.

“The damage is already done and we don’t forget,” Howley said. “We will remember that they weren’t there when we needed them the most.”