A new-look festival site, a huge bar, and a sports zone are among some of the exciting changes people can expect at next year's Northern Pride.
Organisers have revealed a number of ambitious plans ahead of the 2023 event which is set to draw thousands of visitors to Newcastle's Town Moor in July for the weekend festival.
Northern Pride director, Ste Dunn, said the biggest change will be the new layout of the Town Moor site, which will see visitors pass through the 'community village' featuring market stalls before they can reach the festival arena where the main stage is located.
The Platinum Bar and Garden, sponsored by Bobby’s Newcastle, is also set to be bigger than ever as the event continues to grow, with this year's event attracting more than 70,000 people.
The LGBT Northern Social Group and sports zone will also make a welcome return to the event next summer and the popular market stalls and health zone will now run over both days of Northern Pride.
And organisers have confirmed that plans are under way to introduce a mobile app to provide festival attendees with instant access to information after seeing more than 30,000 website hits over the course of the festival weekend.
“We have some really exciting and ambitious ideas and we are hoping that we will continue to get the support we need to turn these ideas into a reality,” festival director Ste said.
A new event logo, designed by artist Russell Atkinson, will be introduced for 2023, however, the mission statement remains the same – 'Remember Resist Rise Up.' And plans are already in place for a Proud Allies training programme, in conjunction with Curious Arts, which will support businesses to gain a greater understanding of the LGBTQIA+ community and their needs.
Next year's event will once again feature performers and a number of speakers, as well as the Pride march through the city which saw 25,000 people take part this year. And that's not all, as Ouseburn Family Pride - which was postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II - has confirmed it will be taking place on May 28, 2023.
“We have a huge number of exciting plans - some of which will be subject to us raising the necessary funding - to help keep the festival free to attend,” Ste added.
“So it’s crucial for us to continue to get as many supporters on board to help us achieve this ambitious programme.”
Platinum Passes are on sale now, with first-release tickets available from £14, and can be purchased from www.northern-pride.com Anyone interested in sponsoring the event should also contact organisers through the website.
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