You are invited to GLAAD’s 5th annual #SpiritDay concert
Live in Los Angeles Wednesday, October 18, GLAAD’s SpiritDay event this year will be hosted by Lauren Jauregui and Frankie Grande!
GLAAD’s 2023 Social Media Safety Index found severe harassment for LGBTQ users when compared to 2022 and found that all five major social media platforms continue to fail on LGBTQ safety. This anti-LGBTQ rhetoric then translates to real-life harm and has been cited as drivers of many of the more than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in states around the country this year alone, many of which target our LGBTQ youth.
GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis and this year’s host, Frankie Grande, present GLAAD’s fifth annual #SpiritDay Concert, spotlighting some of the music industry’s top performers and emerging queer intersectional artists who are revolutionizing the industry and changing the world. Proceeds from this historic live music event will amplify GLAAD’s mission to accelerate acceptance and give LGBTQ youth, their parents, educators, allies and more an opportunity to see what’s possible when we lead with acceptance. Powered by Live Nation and The Recording Academy, the annual GLAAD tradition opens to the public for the first time and will feature performances from Lauren Jauregui, VINCINT, The Scarlet Opera, Wayne Brady and more. Hyundai is a Major sponsor of the concert, and M&M’s returns as an Official sponsor.
Started in 2010, #SpiritDay was created as an anti-bullying campaign supporting LGBTQ youth. Spirit Day, celebrated on the third Thursday in October, provides much-needed visibility and creates possibility models for LGBTQ youth who experience bullying at disproportionately high rates. Each year, GLAAD encourages millions of people to go purple for LGBTQ youth. Learn more about #SpiritDay at glaad.org/spiritday.
Tickets are now on sale and available HERE!
For more information on Spirit Day, visit glaad.org/spiritday and follow @GLAAD on social media to keep up to date with #SpiritDay news.
About GLAAD
GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org or connect with @glaad on social media.
About #SpiritDay
Each year, GLAAD organizes celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges and universities in what has become the most visible anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign in the world. Purple also symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag.
The annual tradition was started in 2010 by GLAAD and then high school student Brittany McMillan, in memory of the LGBTQ youth who died by suicide. McMillan encouraged her friends to wear purple on a day in October — a day that came to be known as Spirit Day.
Today, LGBTQ youth, and especially trans and nonbinary youth, are experiencing a level of scrutiny in schools we have never seen, leading to an environment rife with stressors beyond the peer-to-peer bullying of the past. From book bans, to bans on trans youth in sports, to bathroom restrictions and teachers barred from using correct pronouns, the means by which a student can express themselves and see others like them are increasingly being challenged.
