Showing posts with label gay pride parade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gay pride parade. Show all posts
Monday, 6 August 2012
Liverpool Pride 2012 attracted thousands of visitors
LIVERPOOL PRIDE saw a record crowd of more than 50,000 people bring the city to life in a rainbow of colour.
The huge crowds – including Liverpool FC captain Steven Gerrard and wife Alex Curran – converged on the Pier Head and the city’s Gay Quarter.
Despite teeming rain more than 6,000 people took to the streets for the annual Pride March, which snaked from St George’s Plateau to Mann Island in a tide of colour, music and celebration
Led by Wallasey MP Angela Eagle, the Pride patron, the march also featured representatives from both Liverpool and Everton clubs.
Revellers were treated to a day of live music, with stand-out performances from Crosby X Factor star Marcus Collins and ex-Atomic Kitten Liz McClarnon. Festival spokesman John Bridge said the day was “a resounding success”.
He told the ECHO: “We increased our visitor numbers by something like 15,000 on last year and every single one of those people will have had an amazing time. Everyone was really thrilled by it.
“For a young festival, and a LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) festival, to grow so much in three years is incredible.
“We are quite overwhelmed with the response we have had from across Liverpool – not just the LGBT community, but from families and the straight community who turned out in their droves to support us.
“It shows Liverpool as the forward-thinking, tolerant and vibrant city it is.”
The festival, now the UK’s biggest free pride event outside of London, themed the celebrations ‘Nautical but Nice’ – commemorating 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic.
Article: 5th August 2012 www.liverpoolecho.co.uk
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Manchester Pride Big Weekend 2011
Come and join Manchester Pride's Big Weekend - one of the biggest parties in the UK. From Friday 26 to Monday 29 August, tens of thousands of people descend upon Manchester's world-renowned Gay Village to celebrate the climax of the Manchester Pride’s ten-day festival.
By day, there's three stages packed full of world-class entertainment as well as hundreds of Market & Lifestyle Expo stalls.
By night, Manchester's exciting gay bars and clubs take you through to the early hours of the morning with events that will make you wish the Big Weekend never came to an end.
GAYDAR MAIN ARENA This year will see some big names and fantastic entertainment including Pixie Lott, Pan Amm and Blue headlining the Gaydar Main Arena. Located on Sackville & Bloom Street, right in the heart of the Gay Village, you'll be sure to have an amazing time in the company of some of the world's most-loved artists. Check out who we've got lined-up so far...
SACKVILLE GARDENS A visit to the Sackville Gardens stage is a great chance to socialise with people who share a common interest while being surrounded by local bands, local groups and local entertainment. It’s your community, and this is your stage. On Sunday, the stage plays host to the very popular Women's Stage from 4PM. Find out what you can expect to see over the weekend.
VILLAGE SQUARE Fancy relaxing over the Big Weekend but not shying away from having a drink with some fantastic entertainment? The Village Square is the perfect area for you. We have some fantastic up-and-coming musicians from the LGBT community lined up as well as comedy, drag and activities from dancing to basketball from some of Manchester’s much loved community groups. Have a look at the full programme for the weekend.
LIFESTYLE EXPO The Lifestyle Expo is an undercover outdoor exhibition space designed for you to access resources and information about community groups, your health, sports clubs, legal advice, travel and much more. There are usually over 55 exhibitors so make sure you put aside some time to visit the area. Pride Angel will be holding a stall at the lifestyle expo, so why not have a chat about gay parenting options.
VILLAGE MARKETS Looking to pick up a souvenir to remind you of your Manchester Pride visit? There's over 40 traders on site at the Village Markets selling everything from the latest fashions to rainbow flags. You're sure to find something there to take home with you. Find out who'll be there over the weekend...
OUT IN THE PAST HERITAGE TRAIL Manchester Pride will be running the Out in the Past Hertiage Trail tours again this year. The trail, running since 2003, charts over 200 years of Manchester LGBT history.
BARS & CLUBS Manchester's Gay Village is known worldwide for it's fantastic atmosphere and diverse bar and club scene. Many venues host specific events over the Big Weekend to keep you entertained. Check out what they've got on offer this Manchester Pride.
By day, there's three stages packed full of world-class entertainment as well as hundreds of Market & Lifestyle Expo stalls.
By night, Manchester's exciting gay bars and clubs take you through to the early hours of the morning with events that will make you wish the Big Weekend never came to an end.
GAYDAR MAIN ARENA This year will see some big names and fantastic entertainment including Pixie Lott, Pan Amm and Blue headlining the Gaydar Main Arena. Located on Sackville & Bloom Street, right in the heart of the Gay Village, you'll be sure to have an amazing time in the company of some of the world's most-loved artists. Check out who we've got lined-up so far...
SACKVILLE GARDENS A visit to the Sackville Gardens stage is a great chance to socialise with people who share a common interest while being surrounded by local bands, local groups and local entertainment. It’s your community, and this is your stage. On Sunday, the stage plays host to the very popular Women's Stage from 4PM. Find out what you can expect to see over the weekend.
VILLAGE SQUARE Fancy relaxing over the Big Weekend but not shying away from having a drink with some fantastic entertainment? The Village Square is the perfect area for you. We have some fantastic up-and-coming musicians from the LGBT community lined up as well as comedy, drag and activities from dancing to basketball from some of Manchester’s much loved community groups. Have a look at the full programme for the weekend.
LIFESTYLE EXPO The Lifestyle Expo is an undercover outdoor exhibition space designed for you to access resources and information about community groups, your health, sports clubs, legal advice, travel and much more. There are usually over 55 exhibitors so make sure you put aside some time to visit the area. Pride Angel will be holding a stall at the lifestyle expo, so why not have a chat about gay parenting options.
VILLAGE MARKETS Looking to pick up a souvenir to remind you of your Manchester Pride visit? There's over 40 traders on site at the Village Markets selling everything from the latest fashions to rainbow flags. You're sure to find something there to take home with you. Find out who'll be there over the weekend...
OUT IN THE PAST HERITAGE TRAIL Manchester Pride will be running the Out in the Past Hertiage Trail tours again this year. The trail, running since 2003, charts over 200 years of Manchester LGBT history.
BARS & CLUBS Manchester's Gay Village is known worldwide for it's fantastic atmosphere and diverse bar and club scene. Many venues host specific events over the Big Weekend to keep you entertained. Check out what they've got on offer this Manchester Pride.
Monday, 4 July 2011
Gay Pride London 2011 - Carnival of Love
Organisers of the Gay Pride revels expected a million people to join Saturday's event under the theme Carnival of Love. Luigi Andreoli, a 28-year-old nurse from Ealing, west London, embraced the carnival spirit in fluorescent pink fishnet tights, feathers and a neon corset. "It took me about three hours to get ready," he said. "It's fantastic. This is what we are, and Pride is an excuse to show people that we enjoy who we are and there is nothing wrong with it."
The parade, led by the LGBT disability campaigner Kath Gillespie Sells in a white convertible Corvette, snaked from Portland Place in central London to Trafalgar Square. Cost-conscious civil servants – dressed as anything from a bright red lobster to the Lion King – recycled a two-year-old Home Office-sponsored Bedknobs and Broomsticks-themed float due to stretched resources.
Newcomers to the parade, Glug – the Gay, Lesbian Under Water Group – donned Speedos and underwater masks, while the Liberal Democrats' bus bore the message: "Delivering gay marriage! (Then we can divorce the Tories)". Representatives from the Army and Royal Navy were greeted with enthusiastic cheers as they marched to drumbeats in the afternoon sun.
The former England rugby union winger Ben Cohen said the murder of his father, Peter, who died trying to protect someone at a nightclub he owned in 2000, inspired him to join the parade. His death led the retired rugby star, a 32-year-old married father of twin girls who has a huge following among the gay community, to help raise awareness about homophobic bullying.
Gill Rimmer, 32, a transport planner from Camden, north London, who plays for lesbian had increased the importance of events promoting the gay community. "Living in London I don't feel persecuted on a daily basis, but I don't think my experience would be the same if I lived in other parts of the country," she said. "London Pride is not just for Londoners so it's important for people living outside London to be able to come here and celebrate with like-minded people."
As the skies clouded over in Trafalgar Square, the human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who had carried a placard satirising the BNP leader Nick Griffin in the parade, took to the stage. He criticised London politicians, including Mayor Boris Johnson, for failing to attend the event. Then it was time to celebrate: families, gay couples, straight couples and groups of people old and young danced to live music. The concert included numerous great acts such as Stavros Flatley, Lloyd Daniels and girl band Belle Amie.
There was little dancing at the first Gay Pride march in 1972, when gay and lesbian pioneers marched in an act of public solidarity and defiance. What started as a battle for equal rights has been almost overtaken by a celebration of the right to party.
Article: 3rd July 2011 www.independent.co.uk
For more details and dates of gay pride events in your area visit Pride Angel.
The parade, led by the LGBT disability campaigner Kath Gillespie Sells in a white convertible Corvette, snaked from Portland Place in central London to Trafalgar Square. Cost-conscious civil servants – dressed as anything from a bright red lobster to the Lion King – recycled a two-year-old Home Office-sponsored Bedknobs and Broomsticks-themed float due to stretched resources.
Newcomers to the parade, Glug – the Gay, Lesbian Under Water Group – donned Speedos and underwater masks, while the Liberal Democrats' bus bore the message: "Delivering gay marriage! (Then we can divorce the Tories)". Representatives from the Army and Royal Navy were greeted with enthusiastic cheers as they marched to drumbeats in the afternoon sun.
The former England rugby union winger Ben Cohen said the murder of his father, Peter, who died trying to protect someone at a nightclub he owned in 2000, inspired him to join the parade. His death led the retired rugby star, a 32-year-old married father of twin girls who has a huge following among the gay community, to help raise awareness about homophobic bullying.
Gill Rimmer, 32, a transport planner from Camden, north London, who plays for lesbian had increased the importance of events promoting the gay community. "Living in London I don't feel persecuted on a daily basis, but I don't think my experience would be the same if I lived in other parts of the country," she said. "London Pride is not just for Londoners so it's important for people living outside London to be able to come here and celebrate with like-minded people."
As the skies clouded over in Trafalgar Square, the human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who had carried a placard satirising the BNP leader Nick Griffin in the parade, took to the stage. He criticised London politicians, including Mayor Boris Johnson, for failing to attend the event. Then it was time to celebrate: families, gay couples, straight couples and groups of people old and young danced to live music. The concert included numerous great acts such as Stavros Flatley, Lloyd Daniels and girl band Belle Amie.
There was little dancing at the first Gay Pride march in 1972, when gay and lesbian pioneers marched in an act of public solidarity and defiance. What started as a battle for equal rights has been almost overtaken by a celebration of the right to party.
Article: 3rd July 2011 www.independent.co.uk
For more details and dates of gay pride events in your area visit Pride Angel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
