Organisers of Pride in Liverpool are "excited" to return with their celebrations this weekend after a two-year hiatus.
The free festival taking place this Saturday, July 30, will see the LGBTQ+ community and its allies come together to dance, celebrate, laugh and commemorate all that has been achieved. After last year's tragic increase of reports of homophobic and transphobic hate crimes within Liverpool, the events will make for the perfect opportunity to show how the community stands together and that hate nor bigotry will win.
A spokesperson for LCR Pride told the ECHO : “In the current climate, Pride in Liverpool and other Pride celebrations across the UK are vital. It is as important as ever that we come together as a community this year. The government’s stance on so many issues, from the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda and the exclusion of Trans people from the conversion therapy ban, is eroding our rights and rolling back many hard-won battles. Now is the time for us to stick together as one LGBT+ family and stand up against division, intolerance and the removal of our rights, both here in the UK and abroad.
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“Seeing it all come together finally and seeing the Liverpool City Region’s LGBT+ community and its allies visible and united in celebration and solidarity after what has been an incredibly difficult few years. We did our best to replicate the march online during COVID-19, but there really is nothing as powerful or as unifying as having thousands of people, physically together and marching to remind people that we are here and will continue to fight against the danger, injustices and prejudice that the LGBT+ community faces both here in our own city and around the world.”
Attendees can expect the festival to be “familiar to those who have been before” despite the change in site. The day will start with the March with Pride event starting at St George’s Plateau at 10.30am before finishing off at the Pier Head. Many of the community stands and traders, who have attended Pride in Liverpool in previous years, will be in attendance and a series of Film with Pride screenings will run up to 8.30pm on the day.
LCR Pride, who is responsible for delivering the celebrations, said anyone “joining us can expect a celebratory and community-driven event” regardless of the weather. The main stage will be headlined by Samantha Mumba but also be filled with local acts throughout the day including Young Homotopia, House of La Porta and Many Hands, One Heart. There will be representation from some of the city’s local LGBTQ+ venues, with OMG, Superstar Boudoir and The Lisbon “bringing some of their best-loved performers and hosts to the stage.”
The spokesperson added: “Being able to finally come together again, in person to celebrate Pride in Liverpool feels fantastic. It’s been a long wait and it’s something that the community needs now more than ever. We’re also incredibly proud that we’ve been able to make it happen this year too. Although we’ve been out of COVID-19 restrictions for a good while now, its impact is still being felt when you’re organising free, large-scale events like Pride in Liverpool.
“Everything from suppliers and marquees, to booking acts and planning march routes is still much more complex than before the pandemic. This was evidenced most clearly by our recent site move to Pier Head, due to works expected on Tithebarn Street, which we were informed of late in the day. Everything has a knock-on effect. Fortunately, though, LCR Pride Foundation has a dedicated team that has worked tirelessly with its suppliers and city partners to ensure that we don’t have to go another year without Pride in Liverpool and our March with Pride. We’re all so excited to be back and being able to celebrate together will make all the tough times absolutely worth it.”
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