Birmingham Pride returns to the city this bank holiday weekend, on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May
It’s Birmingham Pride this bank holiday weekend, a two-day family festival celebrating the city’s gay community, with this year’s theme chosen as ‘Freedom: Together United’, but what does the city’s Gay Village have in store?
Well, it’s not all just music stars and celebrities (as wonderful as this year’s line-up is), there’s also a whole host of stalls, community areas, watering holes, clubs and interactive community initiatives taking place; and not to mention the parade itself. A carnival conga of rainbow colours, elaborate costumes, LGBT-inclusive charities, organisations and businesses all marking and celebrating a city proud of its gay community. Here’s what to keep an eye out for…
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Pride Carnival Parade
Launching from Victoria Square in Birmingham’s city centre at 12 noon on Saturday 23rd May, the Carnival Parade route is epxected be the event’s best and most visible procession ever held through the city, as each year gets bolder and brighter than the last.
Birmingham Pride Director Lawrence Barton with Michael Cashman and Peter Tatchell at a previous pride festival in the city (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Leading this year’s parade, alongside the ever-popular Someone At The Door samba band, will be the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), who were recently immortalised in the hit British flick Pride.
Samba band Someone at the Door perform during the carnival parade at Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
The carnival parade at Birmingham Pride makes its way through the city (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
The parade will wind its way down New Street, into High Street, Carrs Lane, Smallbrook Queensway and Hurst Street, before finally entering the main Pride Festival site. Spectators can line the streets along the route to watch, wave and even take pictures during what can be only described as probably the city’s most colourfully chaotic but crazy-cool parade of any kind.
The Birmingham Pride carnival parade will wind its way through the city centre streets
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Pride Main Stage 2015
Music star Ms Dynamite meets fans at Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
There’s a lot of amazing music acts performing for the crowds at Birmingham Pride this year. In fact, there’s over 100 very distinct, diverse and different artists, DJs and bands catering for all music tastes; spanning the last few decades and across numerous genres. That said, the absolute place to be for the biggest, brightest (and probaby loudest) music stars is the Main Stage, which will be graced by the presence and talents of Jess Glynne, Jimmy Somerville, Fuse ODG, Heather Small, Example + DJ Wire, Boney M, Neon Jungle, Atomic Kitten, Marvin Humes, Ms Dynamite, Melissa Totten, Stereo Kicks and Union J over the course of the jam-packed two-day festival.
Jimmy Somerville, Fuse ODG, Example and Boney M are among the headline music acts performing on the Main Stage on Saturday at Birmingham Pride
Jess Glynne, Marvin Humes, Heather Small, Ms Dynamite and Union J are among the headline music acts performing on the Main Stage on Sunday at Birmingham Pride
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Chic Dance Arena 2015
Revellers in a dance tent during Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
The Chic Dance Arena – named after and sponsored by Chic nightclub – is back again with a weekend full of awesome DJ’s rustling up the best tracks, mixes and beats to get those bodies moving.
Djs and artists performing in the Chic Dance Arena on Saturday at Birmingham Pride 2015
Djs and artists performing in the Chic Dance Arena on Sunday at Birmingham Pride 2015
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Village Cabaret Marquee
A weekend full of great national and local cabaret acts, you say? What more could you ask for…
Cabaret artists performing on Saturday at Birmingham Pride 2015
Cabaret artists performing on Sunday at Birmingham Pride 2015
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Fox Women’s Arena
Two days of exciting and enjoyable entertainment in the Women’s Arena, courtesy of the city’s Fox Bar…
A host of local artists will be performing at the Fox Women’s Arena at Birmingham Pride 2015
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LGSM ‘stars’ of Pride film
The Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) group will be leading the Birmingham Pride parade (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)
Leading this year’s Pride Parade are the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), who were recently immortalised in the hit British flick Pride. The LGSM were an alliance of lesbians and gay men who originally came together to support the striking British miners during the year-long UK miners strike of 1984–1985.
Following the Birmingham carnival parade, the group will be joining audiences for a film screening of Pride at the Birmingham LGBT Centre. There will also be an opportunity to watch the original LGSM film All out! Dancing in Dulais, a chance to join a discussion about how solidarity can break down barriers in struggle and hear local LGBT socialist choirs.
There will also be free social and political events during Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
A young man joins the Birmingham Pride parade, with a placard in hand (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Individuals can also join the LGSM on the Pride Parade itself, but spaces are limited. The Birmingham LGBT Centre is free to access and not within the Birmingham Pride wristband-ticketed area. To find out more about LGSM activities during Birmingham Pride, click here.
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Stalls and stands
Rainbow cakes on sale at Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
It wouldn’t Birmingham Pride without there being trailers selling hot and cold food, drinks kiosks and pop-up bars, merchandise and accessory stalls and, of course, charity and LGBT organisation stands. If you need to pick up a bit of rainbow gear to spruce up your get-up; or if you just want one of those colourful wigs or glittery cowboy hats, you’re in the right place.
There’ll be plenty of food and drink outlets at Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Rainbow accessories on a stall at Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
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Funfair rides
Revellers enjoy the fairground rides at Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
If all the music acts, the costumes, the carnival atmosphere and the food and drink wasn’t already enough, you can also keep yourself amused, entertained and live ‘on-the-edge’ by enjoying the many fairground rides which will be specially installed in the Gay Village for the Pride festivities. Just remember to bring plenty of change, and get that burger in after riding the Pendulum… not before.
Friends enjoying the rides at the Birmingham Pride funfair (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
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Finding your way around Birmingham Pride…
A map of the Gay Quarter during Birmingham Pride 2015. Tickets/Wristbands will be required to access the Gay Village during the two-day festival.
The Gay Village or ‘Gay Quarter’ will largely be sealed off for Birmingham Pride festivities over the Bank Holiday weekend.
There will be ticket/wristband exchange booths where one-day or weekend wristbands can be purchased (or exchanged if already paid for). Entry to the Gay Village area will not be allowed without a valid wristband. Official tickets can be purchased in advance here. They can also be purchased on the day, at the ticket/wristband booths, but there will be no guarantee of availability due to high demand.
Birmingham’s premier cabaret act Twiggy greets police officers at Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Tickets/Wristbands will be required for entry into the Gay Village for Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Local residents living within the Birmingham Pride festival area will have received direct information about access to their homes over the weekend.
For more information about access, food and drink, age limitations, parking and more, please visit the Birmingham Pride site and their FAQ page here.
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How to get to the Gay Village
Birmingham Pride will be awash with costume and colour (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Birmingham Pride Festival is set in the heart of the Birmingham Gay Village (in B5 2TB), in the heart of the city’s gay village, in and around Hurst Street (down from the Birmingham Hippodrome), in the Southside area of the city.
Birmingham New Street Station is situated within a short 5 minute walk of the gay village. And for our international visitors, Birmingham International Airport is only 10 miles away.
You can find out more about transport to Birmingham Pride here.
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Accessibility
Rainbow beads on a stall at Birmingham Pride (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
The organisers of Birmingham Pride 2014 wish to make the festival inclusive for all and recognise the need for easy access throughout the event for our disabled community. There are various features in place to cater for those with accessibility needs who are coming to Birmingham Pride. You can find out more about access here.
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Bars and clubs
Festival-goers enjoying Birmingham Pride in the city’s Gay Village (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Birmingham’s Gay Village is home to a number of bars, pubs and clubs including Missing, Eden, The Nightingale, The Core, Bar Jester and The Village Inn. For an extensive insight and guide to the city’s LGBT nightlife, check out website Visit Gay Brum.
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Tickets
If you haven’t already bought your tickets for Birmingham Pride, you can get them here. Tickets must be exchanged for valid wristbands at the ‘ticket-wristband exchange booths’ dotted around the Gay Village over the bank holiday weekend. You may also purchase tickets/wristbands on the day(s) of the festival but best to get in early, just in case they’ve sold out!
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Birmingham Pride
You can download the official guide to Birmingham Pride 2015 here, or view it online here.
You can find out more about Birmingham Pride at the official website: www.birminghampride.com
For updates, check out the official Birmingham Pride Facebook page and Twitter page. Hashtags for this year’s festival are #BirminghamPride and #Freedom.
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