Pink Dot will see some changes to its programming this year.

The annual event will be a daytime affair this year, with the pink light-up (above), a mainstay since 2012 "replaced" with a sea of pink placards.

The three ambassadors for this year's Pink Dot are TV host Anita Kapoor, rapper Shigga Shay and getai artiste Liu Ling Ling.

The theme of this year's Pink Dot is everyday heroes, which puts forth the notion that with love, anyone can be a hero.

The point is driven home by the first entry in a trilogy of short documentaries detailing how individuals can make a world of difference in the lives of the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender (LGBT) community.

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As admirable as these themes of everyday heroes or the transcendent power of love are, the real game changer at this year's Pink Dot might come in the form of a more pragmatic force.

Corporate Sponsors

The number of corporate sponsors have doubled from last year, going from 9 to 18, the largest number of corporate sponsors in the 8 year history of Pink Dot.

Although the majority of sponsors are still global corporations, the number of local sponsors have more than doubled from the previous year, there are 5 (The Gunnery, Infinity Frameworks, PS. Cafe, Clifford Chance and Cavenagh Law) Singapore sponsors, up from 2 in 2015.

While the spike in corporate sponsors could very well be due to an increase in acceptance, especially in American companies, of the LGBT community, a more practical reason might be the increasing body of research espousing the financial benefits of gay and transgender equality in the workplace.

Pink Dot spokesperson Paerin Choa reiterated the value of increased acceptance.

“If a LGBT person has a choice to work in a company that’s inclusive, and a company that doesn’t value diversity, then I suppose most gay people will eventually choose a workplace that they’re more comfortable in.”

Why corporate sponsors matter

Corporate sponsors, first and foremost, provide the capital necessary to carry out an event with the size and scope of a Pink Dot.

Moreover, corporate sponsors help give a tangible manifestation to the more abstract concepts of love and heroism.

They serve the same role as the celebrity ambassadors, only they provide a far more pervasive outreach.

Take for example, the previous year's (and most likely this year's as well) backlash by some religious groups, most notably the Wear White movement.

Just a quick refresher in case you forgot who they were: The Wear White movement is a Facebook group started by Islamic religious teacher Ustaz Noor Deros in 2014.

Their goal is to promote values that are "good and pure" as well as call for a return to fitrah, which means normal in Arabic.

Now, it is almost a certainty that the group, and other like-minded groups, will comment negatively on this years' Pink Dot, but it is even more of a certainty that they will do so on their Facebook pages.

That's right, they are going to be protesting a movement on a social media site that is now one of the main headline sponsors for the very same event.

Well, maybe they can broadcast their frustrations in a 100 plus word rant. They most certainly can, on Twitter, which is coincidentally a returning headline sponsor for Pink Dot.

If their convictions are strong enough, they could possibly find some other new social media site to rally their troops, instead of relying on the gay friendly social media sites listed above, but how exactly are they going to do it?

Easy, just Google "anti-gay social media app" right? Sure, but for one little qualifier, Google is also a headline sponsor for Pink Dot, and has been for half a decade.

Now, will the fact that these social media platforms are proactively supporting Pink Dot deter movements like Wear White from using them for their activism?

Probably not, there is a worrying lack of both self awareness and media options to disengage from these mediums.

But a cognitive disconnect might slowly develop when the apps, websites, news outlets (Bloomberg) and overpriced electronics (Apple) they frequently use all stand firmly behind the very same people they are protesting against.

And these aren't fringe items or websites that they can stop using or perusing in a second, it is no hyperbole to call some of the sponsors fundamental building blocks of the post-Internet world.

This makes it nearly impossible for anyone to boycott the products, resulting in protesters using brands that are on the side of a movement that is, according to them, not normal, or good or pure.

That is why corporate sponsors are essential to Pink Dot's movement, the more corporate sponsors they get, especially if the sponsors are of a high enough local profile, the more attention is paid to the companies supporting the movement.

And when the identity of the companies that are behind the event become more well known, those against the Pink Dot, and gay rights, movement will appear increasingly hypocritical, invoking a constant slew of moral outrage, yet continuing to use the same products that have thrown their lot behind the abnormal, the bad and the impure.

Pink Dot is scheduled to be held on June 4, 2016.

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