Tune in to the 10th Anniversary INSPIRE Awards on May 14, 2021 at 7:00 P.M. as we shine the spotlight on ‘A Decade Recognizing and Celebrating our Community.’ This year’s event will be a free virtual, live-streamed on Facebook and Rogers Community TV across Ontario. #OneLOVE #INSPIRELove

“This is an uniquely special year for us. After a year’s hiatus due to the pandemic, we are back to honour the inspiring work in our community and celebrate our 10th Anniversary. Our board of directors and committees are working hard to create a beautiful community celebration,” says INSPIRE Awards President, Antoine Elhashem. “It will be a not-to-be-missed TV and social media event, with inspiring honourees, fantastic hosts, performers, and heartwarming moments.”

k.d. lang is the recipient of INSPIRE Awards highest honour, the International Icon of the Year Award:

“I am honoured and humbled to be a recipient of the International Icon Award. Life is a journey to finding your true authentic self. All we need to do is embrace and have confidence in who we are.” — k.d. lang

With opening remarks by The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth and by City of Toronto, Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, the 10th Anniversary Ceremony will be co-hosted by the award-winning comedian Martha Chaves, and actor/ comedian Gavin Crawford of this Hour has 22 Minutes fame.

Featuring performances by the legendary Carole Pope, rockstar and humanitarian Bif Naked, the fierce pop harmonies of MANifesto, Scarlet Bobo from Canada’s Drag Race, the powerhouse vocals and pop beats of rIVerse, the Grammy Award Nominated Southern Gothic stylings of Amythyst Kiah, the Cape Breton grass-roots country stylings of Drake Jensen, and more.

INSPIRE Awards was created in 2011 to celebrate the positive work of those in the LGBTQ+ communities in the Greater Toronto and surrounding Area. Since then, we have presented almost 300 awards to honour the most inspiring individuals, youth, businesses and community organizations who all lead by example. 

INSPIRE Awards Categories

  • International Icon Award
  • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • LGBTQ Person of the Year
  • LGBTQ Youth of the Year
  • LGBTQ Positive Business of the Year
  • Inspiring Community Organization of the Year
  • Lux Award for the Arts
  • Charles Roy Award for Activism in HIV/AIDS
  • Accenture LGBTQ Innovator of the Year Award

Nominees and Recipients

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About k.d. lang

k.d. lang has won four GRAMMY® awards, eight Juno Awards, a BRIT, an AMA, a VMA, and four awards from GLAAD. In 1996, she received Canada’s highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada. In 2013, she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards, and last year, received the Alberta Order of Excellence Award. She celebrated the 25th anniversary of her platinum selling breakthrough album, Ingénue, with critically acclaimed tours in Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom/Ireland. This May, she’s releasing ‘makeover,’ a new collection of classic dance remixes of some of her best-loved songs. She is renowned for her live shows. New York Times’ Stephen Holden observed: “Few singers command such perfection of pitch. Her voice, at once beautiful and unadorned and softened with a veil of smoke, invariably hits the middle of a note and remains there.”

About INSPIRE Award

INSPIRE Awards honours the most inspiring people, youth, businesses and organizations in the LGBTQ community in the Greater Toronto Area, INSPIRE Awards are presented by a collective of community partners: PinkPlayMags & The Pink Pages Directory; AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT); Ontario Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP); Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP); Dudley’s Hardware Paint & Décor; Toronto Trans Alliance; and supported by GLAAD.

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About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.