Hundreds of thousands of people will be in San Francisco for Pride celebrations this weekend that will culminate in the parade.
On Wednesday, the Police Department held a news conference to outline their safety plan for the upcoming festivities.
Officials including police and fire will be deployed in the city throughout the weekend, which is jam-packed with events. There will be the Human Rights Conference on Thursday, a block party that night, a Trans Ally Rally on Saturday morning, the Dyke March that afternoon, the Pride Parade on Sunday and a party that evening at the Asian Art Museum.
“Know that every first responder, city worker, and volunteer has one goal — to help everyone celebrate safely,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie at the news conference.
Police asked that attendees of Pride events stay hydrated, drink alcohol responsibly, watch out for each other, don’t bring expensive items and watch their belongings. They also emphasized that driving drunk is never okay and reminded people that San Francisco’s public transportation can get them around during the festivities.
Police Chief Derrick Lew pointed out that this year, many visitors from all over the world are in town for the FIFA World Cup, so the city also has an opportunity to show off.
According to District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, the weekend of the Pride Parade has had a lot of street crime in the past. She also took Wednesday’s event as an opportunity to emphasize that San Francisco doesn’t tolerate hate crimes.
“Know that every first responder, city worker, and volunteer has one goal — to help everyone celebrate safely.”
Mayor Daniel Lurie
“This has been a trying time for our LGBTQ+ community in our country,” she said. “I want to remind anyone thinking of coming to our Pride festivities with the intent to commit any harm towards our family and our community members, that there will be accountability if anything like that happens here. As much as we want to be joyous, we also have to take this occasion very seriously.”
San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management has set up emergency text message notifications that attendees can sign up for by texting “PRIDESF” to 888-777.
