After a two-year break caused by You Know What, Bristol Pride have confirmed that their annual parade will return on Saturday 9th July, ahead of the festival on The Downs. The parade, which last time out in 2019 will gather in Castle Park before making its way through the city centre and onwards to the harbourside.
As well as a protest for equality and inclusion, the march is an opportunity for people to come together to celebrate proudly, sending a clear message that hatred and prejudice have no place in Bristol. The parade is free for members of the public to take part in with a small booking fee for businesses to register and showcase their support by marching on the day.
Pride Day is the culmination of two weeks of events taking place across Bristol from Saturday 25th June until Sunday 10th July and will see the city come alive with Pride with events includingP ride Comedy Night, specially commissioned theatre pieces, Queer Vision Film Festival and the popular Pride Dog Show.
Pride Day on The Downs will feature multiple stages and will attract some of the biggest names in live music and entertainment. Artists already announced for Pride Day include RuPaul’s Drag Race Canada winner Priyanka, Katrina of The Waves, HYYTS and Bright Light Bright Light. Scissor Sister’s Ana Matronic will headline the official Bristol Pride Afterparty at the O2 Academy.
The beating heart of the festival is the Pride Community Tent which will showcase over 60 LGBT+ organisations ranging from charities, support services and sports and social groups. The space will feature alongside the Pride Circus Tent, Youth and Family areas, plus much more.
Eve Russell, Festival Director at Bristol Pride said: “We are so excited for the march to be making its return this year. The pandemic has been an incredibly isolating time for many and during this time we have seen an increase in hate crime and now a watered down ban on conversion therapy further dividing the community.
“It feels even more important than ever to be able to bring the community back together to celebrate and protest. We mark the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march in the UK and [the fact] that LGBT+ rights are still being fought for, not only does the march serve as a reminder of that but it also gives the community the visibility to say, loudly and proudly we are here and we’re not going anywhere.”
