Norwich Pride | |
---|---|
Frequency | Annually |
Location(s) | Norwich, England |
Founded | 2009 |
Founders |
|
Most recent | 29 July 2023 |
Next event | 27 July 2024 |
Website | norwichpride.org.uk |
Norwich Pride is an annual LGBT pride event and registered charity in the city of Norwich, England, first founded in 2009 by the Norwich Pride Committee. It organises a pride parade from City Hall to Chapelfield Gardens, where it is often centered, as well as associated events on the last Saturday in July each year. [1]
Norwich Pride was founded in 2008 by Julie Bremner and Michelle Savage. The two stated at the time that they were "fed up with austerity". [2]
The first Norwich Pride in 2009 ran from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 July [3] and was attended by approximately 3,000 people. [4] The slogan for the event was "let's turn Norwich into a rainbow," and most of its funding came from trade unions. Events included 'Camp It Up Cabaret' on the Friday and the first Norwich pride parade on the Saturday from Chapelfield Gardens to the Forum, which was launched by the Lord Mayor of Norwich and preceded by an Oxjam concert organised by Oxfam. [3] [5] A multi-faith service was held at St Peter Mancroft Church that afternoon. [6] The event was attended by prominent LGBT human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. [3] Some Christians attended anti-LGBT protests during the procession and handed out leaflets which included words deemed "hateful" and "violently offensive" by Norwich Pride organisers. [7]
In 2010, an interfaith church service was held at the Octagon Chapel in the city entitled Coming Out as a Spiritual Practice on the day of the parade, in an attempt to avert the "religious prejudice" seen at the parade the previous year. [7] Other events aside from the parade to the Forum included lectures and a Ladyfest concert headlined by Viv Albertine of punk band The Slits. [4]
Tatchell again attended the event in 2011, and participated in a "Question Time style debate" with MP Chloe Smith. It was again supported by the city's Lord Mayor. [8]
Over 5,000 people turned out for Norwich Pride 2013, which was cited as "record numbers" for the event. Norwich Pride booked out the Forum for a week, with organisers stating that it was "all about visibility". [9]
Organisations such as anti-domestic violence charity Broken Rainbow, school advocacy charity Educate and Celebrate and trade union Unison attended the 2015 event. [10]
In 2016, insurance company Aviva began sponsoring Norwich Pride. [11]
The event in 2017 featured an LGBT+ question time involving Phyll Opoku-Gyimah and Ruth Hunt, as well as art exhibitions, fitness sessions, and performances from Jack Rose and Helen McDermott. [12] Josh Elms and Jo Rust attended the 2017 event, inspiring them to found King's Lynn Pride the next year. [13]
The 2018 march was attended by approximately 10,000 people, and featured a "rainbow river," a fifty-metre long pride flag that was carried through the parade. [14] Event organisers estimated that 10,000 people also attended the event in 2019. [15]
In 2020, the parade was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [16] Despite this, the march was recreated in digital form using video clips of people taking part. The event also adopted the progress pride flag designed by Daniel Quasar for the first time, which was projected onto the walls of Norwich Castle. [17]
The 2021 event was also called off due to continued safety concerns about the pandemic. Instead, smaller events took place around the city, working with local venues and businesses. [18]
Norwich Pride returned for the first time after the pandemic in June 2022. [16] That year, Aviva became the event's main sponsor. [11]
For the 2023 event, a bus wrapped in the colours of the pride flag was unveiled in May. [19] The event itself included five stages across the city centre, as well as an art exhibition and a makers' market. [20] [21]
Prior to the 2024 event, Aviva stated that it would no longer sponsor Norwich Pride after members of Norwich Trans Pride called for organisers to drop the company "in solidarity with our siblings facing a genocide in Palestine", due to its investments in Barclays, which itself had ties to defence companies supplying Israel as well as fossil fuel firms. Aviva cited the "safety of our people at the event" as the main reason it made the decision to pull out, but said that they "remain[ed] committed to the Pride agenda". [11] The Norwich Labour Group was told not to display their party flag during the parade due to anger concerning the policies of Wes Streeting. [22]
EuroPride is a pan-European international event dedicated to LGBT pride, hosted by a different European city each year. The host city is usually one with an established pride event or a significant LGBT community.
Taiwan Pride is the annual LGBTQ pride parade in Taiwan. The parade was first held in 2003. Although joined by groups from all over the country, the primary location has always been the capital city of Taipei. The parade held in October 2019 attracted more than 200,000 participants, making it the largest gay pride event in East Asia. As of 2019, it is the largest in Asia ahead of Tel Aviv Pride in Israel, which is the largest in the Middle East. Taiwan LGBT Pride Community, the organizer of Taiwan LGBTQ Pride Parade, holds the parade on the last Saturday of October.
Bourne Free is an annual pride festival in Bournemouth, England.
The LGBTQ community of Brighton and Hove is one of the largest in the United Kingdom. Brighton, a seaside resort on the south coast of England, has been described in some media as a "gay capital" of the UK, with records pertaining to LGBTQ history dating back to the early 19th century.
Pride in London is an annual LGBT pride festival and pride parade held each summer in London, England. The event, which was formerly run by Pride London, is sometimes referred to as London Pride.
Moscow Pride was a demonstration of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people (LGBT). It was intended to take place in May annually since 2006 in the Russian capital Moscow, but has been regularly banned by Moscow City Hall, headed by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov until 2010. The demonstrations in 2006, 2007, and 2008 were all accompanied by homophobic attacks, which was avoided in 2009 by moving the site of the demonstration at the last minute. The organizers of all of the demonstrations were Nikolai Alekseev and the Russian LGBT Human Rights Project Gayrussia.ru. In June 2012, Moscow courts enacted a hundred-year ban on gay pride parades. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ruled that such bans violate freedom of assembly guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights.
The rainbow flag or pride flag is a symbol of LGBTQ pride and LGBTQ social movements. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. Using a rainbow flag as a symbol of LGBTQ pride began in San Francisco, California, but eventually became common at LGBTQ rights events worldwide.
Pride is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBTQ rights movements. Pride has lent its name to LGBTQ-themed organizations, institutes, foundations, book titles, periodicals, a cable TV channel, and the Pride Library.
Manchester Pride is a charity that campaigns for LGBTQ+ equality across the United Kingdom, predominantly in Greater Manchester. The Charity offers dialogue, training, research and policy analysis, advocacy and outreach activities focusing on LGBTQ+ rights.
WorldPride is a series of international LGBT pride events coordinated by InterPride; they are hosted in conjunction with local LGBT pride festivals, with host cities selected via bids voted on during InterPride's annual general meetings. Its core events include opening and closing ceremonies, a pride parade, and an LGBT human rights conference.
Leeds Pride is an annual LGBT Pride celebration held in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Leeds Pride is one of the biggest free pride events in the UK.
PrideFest St. Louis is an annual LGBT pride event in St. Louis, Missouri. The event is organized by Pride St. Louis, an LGBT non-profit organization in the Greater St. Louis area. Between 350,000-500,000 people attend the two day festival and grand parade.
Queer Azaadi Mumbai Pride March, also called Queer Azaadi March and Mumbai pride march, is an annual LGBTQIA pride parade that is held in the city of Mumbai, capital of Maharashtra, India. It usually begins from Gowalia Tank ending at Girgaum Chowpatty. It, along with the Pride Week, is organized by Queer Azaadi Mumbai, a collective of organizations and individuals working for the rights of LGBTQIA community. The participants of the march include people from the LGBTQIH community as well their "straight allies", from India and outside. In addition to being a celebration of queer pride, the pride march and related events are a platform to ask for equal rights.
Delhi Queer Pride Parade is organised by members of the Delhi Queer Pride Committee every last Sunday of November since 2008. The queer pride parade is a yearly festival to honour and celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and their supporters. The parade usually runs from Barakhamba Road to Tolstoy Marg to Jantar Mantar.
The Hong Kong Pride Parade is an annual march in Hong Kong in support of LGBT rights. Homosexuality has been legal in Hong Kong since 1991 but there is no legal recognition of any same-sex relationships and limited protection against discrimination.
Queen City Pride is an LGBT pride festival, held annually in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The event is held mid-June each year, normally in the week following Saskatoon Pride. The festival is administered by Regina Pride Inc., a non-profit corporation in the province of Saskatchewan.
The Chennai Rainbow Pride March has been held by members of Tamil Nadu LGBTIQA+ communities every June since 2009. The pride march is organised under the banner Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition, which is a collective of LGBT individuals, supporters, and organizations working on human rights and healthcare for the LGBTQIA community. The Pride March occurs on the final Sunday of June every year. The Pride March is usually preceded by a month-long series of events organized by NGOs and organizations to inculcate awareness and support for the LGBTQ community, such as panel discussions, film screenings, and cultural performances. The Chennai Vaanavil Suyamariyadhai Perani a.k.a. Chennai Rainbow Self-Respect March is known for being inter-sectional in nature as it addresses issues with multiple axes such as caste, class, religion coupled with gender discrimination.
Pride Cymru is an LGBT pride festival held annually in Cardiff, Wales.
King's Lynn and West Norfolk Pride is an annual LGBT pride event and registered charity in the town of King's Lynn, England, intended to cover the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. Founded by Norwich Pride attendees Josh Elms and Jo Rust, its first event occurred on 18 August 2018.