Your handy guide to the UK’s biggest Pride events this summer
Here's everything you need to know.
By Will Stroude
The sun is finally shining, prejudice is still very much a part of our present, and quite frankly we need to find ourselves a summer fling in short shorts. So thank goodness, then, that Pride season is almost upon us.
To help with your protest and party planning before it all kicks off in the UK later this month, here’s all the info and dates you need…
Birmingham Pride (26-27 May)
The UK’s biggest two-day LGBT+ festival, Birmingham Pride comes with the bonus of being on the second bank holiday weekend of May, so you’ve got the Monday to recover! This year, acts performing include Jake Shears, Beth Ditto, Rudimental, Courtney Act, Louise (and Louisa!) and MNEK. In short, it’s one big gay party.
Pride in London (9 June-7 July)
The UK’s largest Pride festival offers four weeks of LGBT-loving events and culminates in a colourful, queer parade through the West End on Saturday 7 July, followed by performances in Trafalgar Square.
Pride Glasgow (14-15 July)
Food, drink and even a dog show, Pride Glasgow has it all. Throw Mel C into the mix, as the festival’s headline act, and you’ve got yourselves a wee party.
Isle of Wight Pride (21 July)
Titleholder of UK Pride 2018, Isle of Wight Pride is the only UK one to take place on a beach. Remember to pack those Speedos — you may be swimming back to shore.
Brighton & Hove Pride (3-5 August)
We were gagged when the organisers of Brighton Pride announced they’d scored the ultimate coup of luring pop icon Britney Spears to the seaside resort for an LGBT+ celebration this August. Join the Princess of Pop as she whips up a storm that’ll leave you screaming “gimme more.”
Manchester Pride (24-27 August)
Join revellers in the city’s Gay Village for a bank holiday weekend of live music, boozing and a ‘Circus of Acceptance’ theme. There will also be a candlelit vigil for those who have lost their lives to HIV/Aids.
Here are the start dates for other major Pride festivals:
12 May: Exeter
2 June: Oxford
8 June: Blackpool
9 June: York
16 June: Edinburgh
30 June: Dublin
14 July: Bournemouth, Bristol, Glasgow
21 July: Newcastle, Hull
27 July: Belfast
28 July: Liverpool, Sheffield
5 August: Leeds
11 August: Margate
24 August Cymru (Cardiff)
25 August: Cornwall
1 September: Reading
8 September: Channel Islands