TORONTO — Singer Melissa Etheridge will perform at the opening ceremonies for WorldPride 2014 in Toronto.
The 52-year-old Grammy and Oscar winner will be part of the festival kick-off celebrations on June 20 at Nathan Phillips Square.
WorldPride, presented by Pride Toronto, is an international celebration of diverse sexual identities that will run 10 days and is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of revellers.
Etheridge, whose hits include “Come to My Window” and “I’m The Only One,” came out publicly in 1993. She won an Oscar in 2007 for “I Need To Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth.
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Etheridge was inspired by the Russian government’s mistreatment of gay people to write and record “Uprising of Love,” a song that is raising funds to support LGBT activists in Russia.
“The lyrics of ‘Uprising of Love’ came from such a personal and passionate spot in my soul and I’m more than excited to share this anthem with the world,” Etheridge told Rolling Stone.
“Love is intangible and unpredictable, but it’s the one feeling that is universally experienced and desired by all.”
WorldPride organizers will make further announcements in the weeks to come about artists performing at the festival.
Toronto-born singer Deborah Cox, singer Martha Wash and DJs David Morales and Quentin Harris have already been announced as taking part in WorldPride.
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BELOW: Watch the lyric video for Melissa Etheridge’s “Uprising of Love.”
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