Northern Pride moves online for huge virtual celebration

North East festival-goers are invited to show their pride virtually this year, as one of the UK’s largest LGBTQ+ events is moving online.

Due to the current Covid-19 restrictions, organisers of the Northern Pride Festival have made the decision to postpone their physical event in Newcastle and UK Pride status until July 2022.

But there are plans in place for a huge virtual celebration on July 24, 2021, with more details available at www.facebook.com/northernprideuk

Ste Dunn, director of Northern Pride, said: “We would love nothing more than to be in a position to celebrate Pride weekend with a huge festival this summer and postponing isn’t a decision we have taken lightly, but the safety of our event team, volunteers and community is our top priority.

“A report from the LGBT Foundation found that LGBTQ+

people are more likely to have poor mental health, be socially isolated and experience domestic abuse – factors which have escalated due to the pandemic.

“Therefore, still being able to run online events like we will be doing is a lifeline to keep people connected and help to raise the visibility of the community as we continue to campaign for better protections.

“We’ve channelled all of our energy into planning a really fantastic virtual programme and we’re delighted to have Barclays returning as sponsor for another year.”

Any Platinum Passes already purchased for this year’s festival will now be valid for the 2022 event.

Those who no longer wish to keep their tickets can donate them to an akt service user (www.akt.org.uk) or claim a refund before April 18 by emailing info@npride.org.uk