16/04/2022
After a two year absence enforced by Covid19, the Bristol Pride Parade will be back in the city on the main festival date of Saturday July 9th, and will stand both as a parade of the beauty and diversity of LGBTQIA people, but also a political statement of solidarity and unity in tough political times. With no less than eighteen thousand participants when last held, the march is larger than any other protest or demonstration held in Bristol in recent years and underlines how much Bristol values its LGBTQIA population. But the organisers of the Pride Parade are under no illusions that the international situation remains important, noting “As discussions continue on a full ban on conversation therapy and as the government reviews the human rights act it’s also the opportunity to remember that while progress has been made the LGBT+ community still have to keep fighting for equal rights, for all, and ensure that hard fought rights are not only maintained but furthered.”. Eve Russell, Festival Director at Bristol Pride said “It feels even more important than ever to be able to bring the community back together to celebrate and protest. We mark the 50th Anniversary of the first Pride march in the UK and that LGBT+ rights are still being fought for, not only does the march serve as a reminder of that but it also gives the community the visibility to say, loudly and proudly we are here and we’re not going anywhere.’