The relationship between the bid team for the now-aborted WorldPride Taiwan 2025 event — which was to be held here in Kaohsiung — and the event licensor, InterPride, has always felt somewhat frosty. Back on Nov. 14, celebrations for Kaohsiung being awarded the prestigious event were somewhat overshadowed by the official announcement from InterPride that the 2025 event would be held in the “region of Taiwan.” After the predictable and completely understandable outcry that ensued, InterPride updated its listing to simply say “Taiwan.” But there was always a sense that this change was made somewhat reluctantly, and the relationship felt tarnished from that moment on.