ALL THE FUN OF THE FESTIVAL

PRIDE IN LONDON FESTIVAL IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST LGBT+ FESTIVALS IN THE WORLD. PRIDE IN LONDON’S SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER PETER FLYNN TELLS US WHAT TO EXPECT AND HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

Created and programmed by the LGBT+ community, the Pride in London Festival runs from Saturday 24 June to Sunday 9 July and features everything from Late Nights at the national museums, celebrity panel discussions and spectacular stage shows through to sports competitions, tea dances and pub quizzes in local LGBT+ bars.

Since its inception in 2015, I’ve watched it grow from a handful of events to a two-week celebration of over 50 events across 48 venues in 2016. This year, along with the Festival team I discover and programme events and, crucially, ensure as many people as possible know about, and attend, the capital’s biggest LGBT+ festival. For me, the Festival caters to the widest possible audience. Alongside its big sister – our Pride’s Got Talent competition – it is a way to get involved if you don’t, or can’t, attend the parade day celebrations. Our aim is to help people feel part of a bigger community, reaching to all corners of this great city, showcasing the best talents, acts and people within the LGBT+ community.

2017 is already shaping up to be a very exciting year. We’ve got some very high-profile London organisations lined up but we’re delighted to see a huge range of community-led projects being submitted. These events are so important to us, as they’re programmed by individuals and groups in their communities and best showcase the great diversity of the LGBT+ people.

We’re currently beavering away on around 30 projects already, including what promises to be a hugely exciting launch event. You’ll start to see these announced over the coming weeks and months. Submissions are now open on our website and will close at the end of April. The Festival team carefully considers all submissions and, in some cases, we might ask for more information or an outline describing why you think your submission would be perfect for the Festival. You’ll find guidance on submitting your event on our website.

The Pride in London Festival is a platform for your talent, vision and unique point of view, showcasing your event to thousands of people alongside some of the best the city has to offer, not just to fellow Londoners but across the UK and globally.

If we’ve gotten you inspired, and you believe you’ve got a great addition to our programme, visit prideinlondon.org for details on how to get involved.

PRIDE LIFE SPOKE TO PRIDE IN LONDON SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER PETER FLYNN What is the Pride in London Festival?

It’s a two-week celebration of events from or for the LGBT+ community. So you’ll find everything from Late Nights at the national museums, celebrity panel discussions and spectacular stage shows through to sports competitions, tea dances and pub quizzes in local LGBT+ bars. Last year we put a gay men’s choir in a museum, drag queens on Carnaby Street, queer communities on bike rides, trans films in major cinemas, plus we held tea dances, piano concerts, pub quizzes and a huge array of LGBT+ performers, activists, and opinion-makers in venues across the city.

Where did the Festival come from?

Looking back, there have always been some wrap around events to the Pride weekend. The Festival was conceived in 2014, and there were a handful of events that year. By 2016, it’d had grown to a twoweek celebration of over 50 events across 48 venues in 2016. My role, with the Festival team, is to discover and programme events and, crucially, ensure as many people as possible know about, and attend, the capital’s biggest LGBT+ festival. Alongside its big sister – our Pride’s Got Talent competition – it is a way to get involved if you don’t, or can’t, attend the parade day celebrations. Our aim is to help people feel part of a bigger community, reaching to all corners of this great city, showcasing the best talents, acts and people within the LGBT+ community.

What’s currently planned?

We’re getting ready to announce some of the confirmed projects. There’ll be a very exciting launch event at a major London venue, and you’ll definitely see us back in some of the museums across the city. Plus we’ve got tours of some historic parts of the city, a load of special film screenings, some exciting panel discussions, sporting events, a major new exhibition and some dazzling performances up our sleeves. There’ll be something for everyone – from small children right up to older people, and from all areas of the community.

What kind of events are you looking for?

We’re looking for anything and everything that has an LGBT+ focus that falls within the dates. This year, we are eagerly looking out for submissions with a focus on women, the BAME community, health and wellbeing as well as the Bisexual, Transgender and Queer communities. We want real voices of the community to be heard and expressed in every shape and form, to create an event befitting a LGBT + community that is inclusive and unapologetically embraces everyone.

Why would someone want to be part of the Festival?

Having an event in the festival does a few things. Firstly, it puts you up there alongside all sorts of other events – from prestigious London organisations who have huge international projects, through to the most unusual and niche events that are happening in all sorts of places across the city. It’ll be quite amazing company to be in. Secondly, it opens your event up to a massive London, UK and international audience. We’ll be heavily promoting the Festival to thousands of people across London to get audiences attending. But the Pride in London brand is global; across the world eyes are looking to us to see what we do and how we celebrate in London. Your Festival event will be part of a showcase proving that London’s LGBT+ community has some of the best talent and events in the world.

When do submissions close?

We’ll be closing submissions on 30 April, so you’ve got a little while to work on your event and get the information over to us. For more information visit prideinlondon.org

“Our aim is to help people feel part of a bigger community… showcasing the best talents, acts and people within the LGBT+ community”