Pussy Riot to lead Toronto Pride this summer

Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina are set to take part in Toronto Pride this June, joining a number of high-profile activists and performers, including Cyndi Lauper, David Furnish and Chaz Bono. The two women, who have attended a number of human rights-related events since their release from prison in December 2013, will serve as the event’s international grand marshals, leading the parade and performing on stage.

“Pride is an arts and culture celebration, but it is also a political celebration and demonstration,” Mathieu Chantelois, executive director of Pride Toronto, said. “Having Pussy Riot coming to the stage … is a very 2015 way to be political and to be relevant.”

Since being released from jail in 2013 following the approval of an amnesty ahead of the Sochi winter Olympics, both women have met with a number of prominent political and media figures in the west.

In February this year, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova released their first song in English, I can’t breathe, described by the women as an “industrial ballad”.