Photo: Management Tara
For the EuroPride anthem we have the privilege of working with UK artist Tara McDonald. The extravagant Queen of Dance will be performing on several outdoor stages during our EuroPride festival.
Please tell us something about Tara
I’m a singer/songwriter signed to Mercury/Universal — music is my first love. I’m also a music manager: my company is called Give Me More Music and I’ve just signed my first two artists with Warner and Universal. I’m an animal lover, obsessed with my white miniature Schnauzer Annie. I’m a vegetarian and have recently developed a big love of vegan cooking. I’ve been called the Queen of Dance. Where is my crown?
What does ‘equal rights’ mean to you?
Equal rights are incredibly important to me — anything less than equality is an insult. It’s unjust to give a selected few preferential treatment; we are all human after all. Everybody deserves to be treated fairly and equally, regardless of gender, sexuality, race or religion. This is an issue I will spend my life campaigning for, until laws are changed to protect and implement equality and until countries around the world unite behind the same global vision for equal rights.
What is the message of our song ‘I Need A Miracle’?
Last year I performed at the Bataclan to raise money for the PRIDE event in Paris — two months before the terrorist attack at the same venue. I was in the very same dressing rooms where people were later seen hanging from the windows. It was a very strange feeling and I felt compelled to release a song about hope for the future — the world needs a miracle. I’d grown up listening to, dancing to and loving Fragma’s version of “I Need A Miracle”; the lyrics about accepting nothing less than a deeper love really struck a chord with me. So I chose to cover the song as my next single. The message is about unity, healing, respect and equality. If everyone treated each other with a deep sense of love and understanding, there would be no room for hate. It’s a simple message, but it’s the future I’m hoping for.
What is your best Pride moment ever?
There have been so many special PRIDE moments over the years and each event is magical in its own way. A standout moment for me was in 2014 when I was chosen as the “marraine” ambassador of Paris PRIDE, a role I was honoured to accept. I took my duties very seriously: I gave speeches to the media to support changes in legal rights in France, helped start the march through Paris, attended press conferences, and of course performed on the main stage at Place de la République in front of 500,000 people. It was a crazy, beautiful, nerve‑wracking and emotional day — to stand up for a cause I believe in and give it my all. PRIDE is so much bigger than one person. Onstage at the end of the event I cried in the arms of the PRIDE organisers; we had become a family. I’m so proud that my new single ‘I Need a Miracle’ has been chosen as the official anthem for this year’s EuroPride. What an honour!
Pride Ambassador since 2016
