PrideSOS is an LGBTQA+ inspired project to help support fans who are in the community. The band, 5 Seconds of Summer, makes them feel as though they have a safe space online. The idea was to bring that safe space into real life at 5SOS shows and show support, unity and solidarity and show the fans who identify as part of the community that they are welcome and loved in their chosen family.

The aim of the project is to bring the concept of pride to the Meet You There tour. There’s no one set way to participate in PrideSOS and so far every city has come up with a different idea on how they can get involved. We currently have every city of the tour taking part from around the world at their tour stops.

Speaking about the idea of the project, creator Jazz says: “Three people inspired this project. To start with, I identify as Demisexual which is a sexuality which not everyone approves of and thinks of it as a joke or not real. But when I came out, the 5SOS fam were so supportive and seeing the boys being open and supportive of people’s identities in life really made me feel valid.

The second person who inspired me is a fan who everyone loves. She’s always tweeting positivity and being such an incredible human being, even the band notice her and love her. When she told us that she is a lesbian but only out online because people in her real life weren’t accepting of her queer identity, it broke my heart. Not everyone can attend a pride event, so it’d be amazing to bring pride to somewhere that is safe and easier to access.

The third person is my dear friend, Alaska. I’ve watched them over the years trying to work out how they identify and although they have struggled, they’ve always had 5SOS as an escape. When they came out as genderqueer, the fans were so positive and supportive, it warmed my heart. I know a lot of fans also are going through similar stories to the three of us and so I thought it would be amazing to let music connect us all and celebrate who we are.”

Seeing 5SOS being confident enough to break gender norms and accepting of the community has inspired a lot of fans to come out and accept themselves for who they are.

There is also a charity aspect as part of the project where we raise money for worthy LGBTQA+ causes around the world. This will help them keep running as well as raise awareness about their work to let fans know what's out there to help them.

The charities we will be helping include:

- Trevor Project (US merch)

- Mermaids UK (UK merch)

- Mind Out (London)

- Happy Hippie Foundation (Los Angeles)

- Minus18 (Brisbane)

- LivingProud (Perth)

- The Dru Project (Orlando)

- Just Us Oasis (Nashville)

- RainbowYouth (Auckland)

- Lyric (San Jose)

You can find out more about #PrideSOS on our Twitter or from this article.