http://youtu.be/2FScfWx0wKA
NEW YORK — This Friday, during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games, restaurants, bars, and clubs across the nation will donate $1 of every drink sold from 9 p.m. to midnight as part of a new national initiative called Uprising of Love: Pride House 2014. All proceeds raised during the three-hour timeframe will be donated to the Russia Freedom Fund to support Russian LGBT activists.
Pride House events were previously held in London and Vancouver during the 2010 and 2012 Olympics so LGBT athletes, fans and friends could enjoy the international sporting events and celebrate LGBT inclusion in sport. When Russia announced its ban of a Pride House event in Sochi, Uprising of Love,Pride House International, Flip@Radarworks, and Outsports decided to launch Uprising of Love: Pride House 2014 to show Americans’ support for LGBT Russians and Olympians. There has been an increase of anti-LGBT violence in Russia after discriminatory legislation targeting the LGBT community was passed last year.
Restaurants, bars, clubs, and other commercial establishments in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston,Chicago and New York will participate in Uprising of Love: Pride House 2014. To encourage supporters to visit their local Pride House on Friday, LGBT activists and YouTube stars Colby Melvin and Brandon Brown created a promotional video that can be viewed above. Additionally, the City of West Hollywood issued a proclamation on Monday declaring Feb. 7 as Uprising of Love: Pride House 2014 Day, with almost a dozen popular venues becoming Pride Houses for the evening.
Visit http://uprisingoflove.org/pridehouse/ for a list of participating venues.
