If you are a regular visitor to Cabot Circus or if you’ve just been there in the recent months, you will have noticed the brightly coloured steps that lead you down to the bottom floor of the shopping and food complex. Painted in all the colours of the rainbow, the steps represent the rainbow Pride flag.
First installed back in June last year, the 'Pride Steps' were painted as part of Bristol’s Pride celebrations. The bright swatches of colour on one half of the grey concrete steps were still there in the run-up to Christmas, and made a bright backdrop for everyone taking pictures of the giant Santa installation that towers over shoppers every December.
However, some shoppers hitting the January sales have been disappointed to notice that they have since disappeared. The shopping centre said the steps were only ever meant to be temporary.
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A total of 40,000 people attended Bristol’s Pride Day last year with 20,000 people taking part in the parade. After two years of very little in the way of events due to the effect of covid, the 2022 Pride events spanned two weeks with a variety of different activities to attend.
A rainbow crossing was also painted on Wine Street as part of the city's proud show of support for the LGBTQ+ community, which remains in place with the colours still looking fresh. However, more than six months after their installation, the steps at Cabot Circus have gone.
A spokesperson for the shopping centre said: “The steps were part of our Pride celebrations so were always supposed to be temporary and the time came for them to be updated as we look to incorporate the space onto our activations for 2023.”
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“We’re still going to have activity for Pride, it’s a bit early to give details but stay tuned.” This year Bristol Pride will run from June 24-July 9, with Pride Day on Saturday, July 8, and wristbands are already available.
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