Coca-Cola celebrates love at the Pride of Milan, Naples and Padua

Coca-Cola will be a partner of the events in the three Italian cities and will support LGBTQI+ reception projects against gender discrimination and sexual orientation.

Milan, June 24, 2021 - Once again this year , Coca-Cola confirms its commitment to valuing diversity and promoting inclusion, inviting people to celebrate love and overcome all divisions. After a year of digital events, the brand will be in the squares of Milan, Naples and Padua to support Pride, and the values it represents, and together it will support hospitality projects promoted by LGBTQI+ associations.

"Participating in Pride is an honor for us and allows us to continue to promote a 360-degree inclusive culture," says Cristina Camilli, Director of Communication and Institutional Relations of Coca-Cola Italia. "Never before has it been so necessary to focus on what we have most beautiful, celebrating together the love that unites us and sharing it with as many people as possible, free from any prejudice."

"Our commitment to enhancing diversity starts from within the company, with the almost 2000 colleagues who work in the country," adds Giangiacomo Pierini, Director of Communication and Institutional Relations of Coca-Cola HBC Italia. "Diversity is a strategic value for us and for many years we have been working to create an inclusive environment, based on mutual respect and recognition, in which you are judged for what you do, not for what you are. For this reason, in the last year, we wanted to combine policies and various initiatives on the subject with training courses that help to recognize and eliminate all forms of unconscious prejudice."

Spread the Love: Coca-Cola at Milano Pride

Coca-Cola, alongside Milano Pride 2021, presents Spread the love, the live event in Piazza Francesca Romana scheduled for Friday 25 June from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm. The event aims to give space and make people listen to the happy stories of what really matters: love, of whatever nuance it is. On stage the testimonies of three couples of influencers, witnesses of a free and positive love: Muriel and Ethan, Emanuele Ferrari and Andrea, Charlotte and his girlfriend, who will tell, together with the representatives of the School Group of the CIG Arcigay Milano, how they fell in love and what it means for them to be a positive example for today's young people, without lending their side to hatred, offenses and discrimination. 

With the event in Milan, Coca-Cola will also support the Rainbow Social Fund, the fund set up by the CIG Arcigay Milano to support solidarity projects in the social sphere.

Coca-Cola events at the Pride of Padua and Naples 

In addition to the Milanese event, Coca-Cola will be present in the squares of two other important Italian cities: in Naples it will be the main sponsor of the event and on July 3 it will descend on Piazza Dante to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pride in the Neapolitan city, where, in 1996, the first Pride of the South was held; in Padua, on the other hand, Coca-Cola is among the supporters of the Pride Village, which this year will be in the Parco delle Mura from June to October, every day from 8 to 2, with a full calendar of meetings, live shows and shows, which will enrich the celebrations of this long-awaited Pride 2021.

With Burger King and Deliveroo to support LGBTQI+  hospitality projects

In addition to active participation in street demonstrations, Coca-Cola wants to give further concrete support in collaboration with Burger King and Deliveroo: by purchasing the Rainbow Whopper Menu on the food delivery platform, Coca-Cola will donate the entire proceeds to two hospitality projects supported by LGBTQI+ associations in Milan and Naples. In Milan, the menu will be available from 25 to 27 June and the proceeds will go to the "Casa Arcobaleno". In Naples, the same menu will be available from 2 to 4 July and the proceeds will be donated to the "House of Cultures and Hospitality for LGBT+ people", the first reception facility in the South.