‘Pride island’ coming to Animal Crossing, with rainbow march and queer club in support of Black Lives Matter
Animal Crossing
The world of Animal Crossing is about to become impossibly idyllic by hosting an international virtual Pride festival.
Nintendo’s adorable open-ended island simulation game has announced it will be taking part in Global Pride 2020, an international Pride celebration organised by LGBT+ groups around the world.
The in-game celebration, #GlobalPrideCrossing, kicks off on 18 June and will last for the rest of Pride month, creating “a safe space to celebrate for people of any gender, orientation, colour or ethnicity who are part of LGBT+ and ally communities across the world,” a statement said.
“Equally it will provide a platform to empower individuals to learn, express their identities and connect with others.”
The main attraction will be a specially-built Pride island, complete with a rainbow march, queer club, hall of fame, catwalk, and a range of Pride-themed clothing to help players host parades on their own islands.
The Pride campaign was inspired by the “thriving” LGBT+ communities of Animal Crossing
On Pride Day itself, 27 June, Twitch creators from around the world will live stream a #GlobalPrideCrossing game session to showcase their islands and visit other players.
You can watch it all on the Global Pride 24-hour live stream, helping to raise funds for the Pride movement and Pride organisations impacted by coronavirus. The online event will also be supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in a number of ways, including resharing BLM-related content.
#GlobalPrideCrossing and the Animal Crossing Pride island was created pro bono by We Are Social Singapore, in association with InterPride and European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA).
While not an official update from Nintendo, the campaign was reportedly inspired by the “thriving” LGBT+ communities of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which have helped make it one of the best-selling Switch games of all time.
The Animal Crossing event will raise money for LGBT+ groups and Black Lives Matter
Andrew Baker, co-president of InterPride, said: “Pride is an incredibly important moment in the calendar for LGBTI+ people, as it offers the community a chance to freely express their identity in a very public way.
“However, we all knew that this year’s Pride celebrations were never going to be the same, with communities all over the world still in various stages of lockdown.
“So when We Are Social approached us with the idea to create a virtual space, using a platform already popular within the LGBTI+ community, where people could safely come together to express and celebrate their identities – we jumped at the chance.”
To find out more, including how to access the Pride island, check out #GlobalPrideCrossing on Twitter.
Somewhere over the rainbow…? #ComingSoon #StayTuned #GlobalPrideCrossing pic.twitter.com/ebUle3qGnG
— Global Pride Crossing ?️? (@GPrideCrossing) June 16, 2020
