Milan, 16 June 2023 - For the sixth consecutive year, Coca-Cola returns to Milano Pride as an official partner, confirming its commitment to the enhancement of diversity and inclusion, and supporting the Rainbow Social Fund, the fund established by the CIG Arcigay Milano to promote solidarity projects in the social field for the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond, 365 days a year.
On June 24th, Coca-Cola will parade again in Milan and other Italian cities, joining its voice to the people of Pride to celebrate love in its many facets and colors and to reiterate the importance of union and sharing. It is only by being together, in fact, by welcoming differences and enhancing the identity of each one that we can aim to free up new energy for a more cohesive and inclusive society. Starting with the company itself: the prerequisites for the hiring, employment, training, remuneration and career advancement of the more than 2,000 people who work in Coca-Cola between offices, plants and sales force, are only skills, results and experience.
"We are happy and proud to be able to return with our colleagues to the Parade to celebrate all the nuances of love together," says Cristina Camilli, Director of Institutional Relations, Communication and Sustainability of Coca-Cola Italia. "Every day, all over the world, thousands of people become the spokesperson for a powerful message of inclusion and we are convinced that moments of celebration like this are a perfect opportunity to reaffirm a simple principle: the value that comes from the union of differences, which we try to promote starting from the opportunities and the totally inclusive environment we offer to our employees, but also through the ability to inspire people that has always distinguished our brands' campaigns."
"For us at Coca-Cola HBC Italia, valuing diversity is a fundamental principle of our corporate culture and involves all 2000 colleagues working in the country," adds Giangiacomo Pierini, Director of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability of Coca-Cola HBC Italia. "For more than 10 years, we have been committed to creating an inclusive work environment, based on mutual respect and recognition. For this reason, we also combine policies with training courses to recognize and eliminate all forms of unconscious bias. We consistently support this vision even outside the company: also in 2023 we confirm our support for LGBTQIA+ people, both through participation in the main Pride events in the regions where we have our factories and offices and through direct support to LGBTQIA+ associations in the area."
Coca-Cola has in fact chosen this year to recreate a rainbow thanks to colorful t-shirts and the claim "I AM #PARTOFTHERAINBOW". Each t-shirt indicates with its own color that it is precisely our differences and peculiarities, in harmony with those of others, that make us special. Just as the different colors combine together to create the rainbow, in the same way occasions such as Pride are the ideal time to reiterate one's support for the LGBTQIA+ community, diversity and a culture in which everyone can always be themselves, free from fear or prejudice.
The appointment is on June 24 in Milan in via Vittor Pisani, from 14:00, for an initial moment of music. Coca-Cola will join the Pride parade from 16:00, which will continue towards the Arch of Peace. For the second year in a row, there will be the colourful Volvo Trucks electric truck and an unmissable DJ set together with two special guests: Jo Squillo, who returns with his unmistakable charge to Pride after last year's success on the Coca-Cola truck, and Dargen D'Amico.
Coca-Cola will also be present in the squares of other Italian cities. In Naples, the brand will be a sponsor of the event that will take place on 1 July and, from Saturday 24 June, of the related Pride Park at the Albergo dei Poveri in Naples. The company will also support the House of Cultures and Hospitality of the LGBTQIA+ community, a project born from a collaboration between the Municipality of Naples and a partnership of associations led by Antinoo Arcigay Napoli.
In Padua, Coca-Cola will be for the fifth consecutive year among the supporters of the Virgo Pride Village, which this year will take place from 9 June to 9 September, and of the SAT PINK Verona and Padua Association which supports people in transition with psychological, legal and medical services.
Finally, in Turin, Coca-Cola will join the Pride celebrations on June 17 for the second year together with La Stampa, making its contribution to support TO HOUSING, the new social co-housing that welcomes LGBTQIA+ people in need.