Walk hand in hand with your partners, friends and family as you walk towards a better world together.
Liverpool Pride and a dedicated team of volunteers hold a annual march where thousands of people are given the opportunity to celebrate their sexuality through the streets of Liverpool. Nobody’s love for another human should be left in the closet. Liverpool Pride began as a community response to the tragic death of Michael Causer in 2009 and exists to remind the community to stand up for LGBT and equality. The Festival serves to host a city wide celebration of LGBT culture where everyone is welcome.
Excitement is mounting and the countdown is on as the city prepares to celebrate the all new Liverpool Pride Festival 2016 this weekend. Already over 25 iconic buildings are showing their true rainbow colours lighting up as part of the Come Out Of The Shadows project against hate crime and in a bid to make Liverpool the most visibly LGBT friendly city in the UK.
The new lively and vibrant March working with Brouhaha to animate like never before, will set off at 12 noon on Saturday from St Georges Plateau. It has also been confirmed that a record number of people have subscribed to walk through the city streets, they will pass through Lime Street, Roe Street, Whitechapel, Lord Street, Castle Street, Victoria Street, through a gay quarter on Stanley Street and finally Dale Street and Churchill Way flyover.
The seventh annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, this year, the Liverpool Pride Festival will take a more prominent position in the city, taking over the St George’s Quarter, including St George’s hall, The Plateau, William Brown Street and St John’s Gardens. And the free two-day festival on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July promises to be the most visual and flamboyant Pride ever created! Liverpool Pride would like to thank key sponsors Homes for Everyone, Barclays and Liverpool City Council who have made this year’s event possible.
The theme for Liverpool Pride 2016 is Liverpool icons, chosen to commemorate the multitude of local legends who hail from the Merseyside region – from celebrities and ships to buildings and even our national dish – Scouse! So expect lots of glamorous, ridiculous, ingenuous and, downright fabulous, costumes on show during the weekend. For the 2016 event, the majestic backdrop of the St George’s Quarter will be transformed into a colourful festival site bursting with activities over the two days. The main Festival day on Saturday, 30th July will begin with the all-important campaign march which this year will be bigger and bolder than ever. The march will begin at the Plateau Stage in St George’s Quarter at 12pm and ends back at St George’s Hall at 1pm.
photo by Geoff Drake
There will be three stages offering a full day of entertainment from 1pm to 9pm – with something for everyone whether its great music or classic burlesque that floats your boat. There will also be drag queens, comedy, dance, choirs, swing and all that jazz! Throughout the day, the St George’s Quarter will come alive with the sound of music from Batala Mersey – Samba Reggae Drumming Band and the Ukulele Club.
A key highlight of the day will be Sing With Pride. Singer and Sense of Sound creative director Jennifer John has been commissioned with Arts Council funding to work with six diverse choirs from communities across Liverpool City Region to perform 22 songs covering the theme Liverpool Icons. Performances will include individual choir, mass choral pieces and opportunities for audience participation to sing along and remember some of Liverpool’s best known bands and performers including The Beatles, The Christians, Dead or Alive, The Real Thing, Black, Mel C, and Echo and The Bunnymen.
Discrimination is an awful thing that can never be justified. Luckily, many of us go our whole lives without ever being subject to its perils and leave this world unscathed by the compassionless and afraid. We support Liverpool Pride’s message eternally, no human should ever walk these streets full of shame, they should strut the streets with pride, looking absolutely fabulous. Liverpool Pride will be happening this weekend on the 30-31st of July and is a march that encompasses a notion, not a sexuality. You don’t have to be swayed by a certain sex to join, you just have to embody the movement.
Rainbow afternoon tea from Jam Restaurant
To keep up to date with Liverpool Pride click here.