Pride Marches and Festivals

Where:	Countrywide including Newcastle upon Tyne at Civic Centre and Town Moor
When:	Various dates, often in June or July- Newcastle event is a Saturday in late July
Time:	Various- Newcastle Parade from noon and Festival all afternoon and evening

Pride events celebrate LGBTQ rights, achievements and acceptance and take place all over the country, with more added to the calendar every year. The events are also a chance to campaign for improved rights for various groups, and have their origins in American demonstrations which grew from the 1950s onwards, with the first marches starting in 1970 in Chicago. Many feature a parade with lots of flag-waving and participation by individuals, groups and organisations, and many also have a music festival component. In the UK there are now many Pride events, notably London (which has almost as long a history as the American events), Birmingham and Liverpool. My local Pride event is at Newcastle upon Tyne, and there is sure to be one within relatively easy travelling distance just about wherever you’re situated in the UK.Expect lots of rainbow flags, fancy costumes, placards and banners.

Helpful Hints

Pride events can take place at any time of year but are mostly in the summer months, often June and July. There are too many for me to list all of the events on this site so as an example I’ve included details of my local festival.

For a list of the many Pride events around the country follow these links: https://www.pride-events.co.uk

and https://gayprideshop.co.uk/pages/uk-gay-pride-calendar-2022

Newcastle’s Northern Pride Festival is held on a weekend in late July each year. In 2024 it was on Saturday July 20th -2025 date is yet to be announced. It begins with a huge parade around the city centre starting at the Civic Centre and passing Grey’s Monument, before heading to the Town Moor where there is a free music festival.

Click here for the Newcastle Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/northernprideuk

and website: https://linktr.ee/northernprideuk