Anheuser-Busch, a major brewing company, has decided not to sponsor the St. Louis PrideFest after 30 years of sponsoring the annual LGBTQ pride parade.
According to KSDK, Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light and Budweiser, is no longer sponsoring the 45th annual PrideFest event in St. Louis, leaving the LGBTQ organization with roughly $150,000 less than it had raised in 2024.
In a recent post on Instagram, Pride St. Louis announced that the LGBTQ organization would be launching a “#45for45” fundraising campaign to raise donations ahead of this year’s event in St. Louis.
“While we are deeply disappointed that Anheuser-Busch has chosen to step away from supporting PrideFest this year, we remain hopeful that the community will step up where they have stepped down,” Pride St. Louis President Marty Zuniga said in a press release shared on the organization’s Instagram page.
Zuniga added, “The #45for45 campaign is an opportunity for everyone, whether you’ve marched in the parade, attended our events, or simply believe in equality, to help ensure that these efforts continue for years to come. The community and our board are clear—canceling PrideFest is not an option.”
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According to PrideFest’s website, this year’s LGBTQ event will take place at Soldier’s Memorial Park in St. Louis on June 28 and June 29.
Addressing the lack of LGBTQ sponsorships for this year’s upcoming event, Zuniga told KSDK, “This community is trying to be erased right now, and DEI is becoming a bad word in this country, and we need these partners more than ever.”
The Pride St. Louis president explained that the St. Louis PrideFest organizers were “devastated” after being informed that Anheuser-Busch would not be sponsoring this year’s LGBTQ event.
“We learned this about a couple of weeks ago and tried to work with them and all our sponsors as we start to gear up to planning for PrideFest 2025,” Zuniga said. “It was just interesting that the longest partner of ours for 30 years that they’ve been at the table with us and a true ally just decided to walk away after basically just saying that they just don’t see the value in it anymore.”
According to SFGATE, in addition to pulling its support from Pride St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch also pulled its support from San Francisco Pride. The outlet noted that San Francisco Pride has lost multiple sponsorships from various corporations, leading to a current lack of $300,000 in funding.