Last year, when Michi Suzuki was contacted about getting involved with Seattle’s FIFA World Cup 26 Local Organizing Committee—and specifically, the Pride+ Match Impact Council—she didn’t even have to think twice before saying yes. As a local PR firm owner, longtime soccer player, and member of the LGBTQ+ community, Suzuki saw the opportunity as a convergence of multiple areas of her life. In one of the first meetings, someone floated the concept of a PR campaign surrounding the Pride Match, and soon a framework emerged from a laundry list of ideas.

“If we’re going to have this global stage, why don’t we do a really rich video storytelling campaign that highlights all pronouns, all colors of the rainbow, allies—you know, everyone that makes up this amazing city?” Suzuki recalls, noting that they wanted to focus on the concept of Seattle being a warm, welcoming, and inclusive place. “I was born and raised here, and this is a really amazing opportunity to show the world how we live, how we all should live.”

Last December, one month after the committee submitted its campaign plan, FIFA held the official draw to determine which teams would participate in the June 26 Pride Match. The resulting picks, Iran and Egypt, come from countries where homosexuality is criminalized, and there were objections from their federations.

“For the past eight years, really, two full World Cup cycles, the tournament had been hosted in countries where the LGBTQ+ community faced limited legal protections,” says Hedda McLendon, the senior vice president of Legacy for the Local Organizing Committee. “And we realized that in 2026, with it [being hosted] in the United States, Mexico, and Canada—and especially with Seattle being a host city—that there was a huge opportunity for us to affirm LGBTQ+ dignity and belonging on a global stage.”

Collaborating with the wife-and-wife team behind Portland-based Honeysuckle Photography—who kitted out a Sprinter van as a mobile production studio—Suzuki and the rest of the Pride+ Match Impact Council recruited members and supporters of the regional LGBTQ+ community. Nearly 40 participants—musicians, artists, and athletes, as well as cultural, business, and nonprofit leaders—will appear in the video campaign, designed by Suzuki and Lisa Willis of Lisa Willis Creative, working under the theme of “How We Pride.”

“The Northwest is a forerunner in trying to set a standard on how we want to engage, respect everyone, and lift people up,” says former Seattle SuperSonics forward Detlef Schrempf, who appears in the campaign. “The intent on my end is for people [who see it] to just be kind to one another.”

All together now. More than three dozen members and supporters of Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community will appear in the “How I Pride” videos, including Métier Brewing Company cofounder Rodney Hines and former Seattle SuperSonics player Detlef Schrempf. The crew behind the campaign: Hedda McLendon, Lisa Willis (behind), Patti Hearn, Jen Barnes, Maggie Kirkland, Li Nowlin-Shi (behind), Michi Suzuki, Lu Barnes, and Lacy Kirkland.

Photos by HONEYSUCKLE PHOTOGRAPHY, LLC

The “How We Pride” campaign, which includes several videos, launched this May. Suzuki, Willis, McLendon, and everyone else involved are choosing to focus on the positives surrounding the match—namely, the chance to show the world the power of love, respect, and acceptance.

“When we first saw the schedule and saw that there was a match on the Friday of Pride weekend, which this community has celebrated for 50-plus years, there was no question that we were going to have a Pride Day Match,” McLendon says. “But it’s really more than a match for us. It’s way more than the countries that are playing. It’s an opportunity to celebrate Seattle as an inclusive city—and the LGBTQ+ community.”