An estimated 20,000 people took part in the ‘March with Pride’ in Liverpool on Saturday with tens of thousands more attending Pride in Liverpool events across the city centre. Tony McDonough reports
Organisers of Pride in Liverpool estimate 20,000 people joined the March with Pride in Liverpool on Saturday.
Starting at St George’s Hall and ending at the Pier Head, March with Pride was part of Pride in Liverpool. This saw tens of thousands of people attending events across the city centre, including Liverpool ONE, Royal Albert Dock and St Johns Shopping Centre.
For more than a decade Liverpool’s Pride extravaganza has been one of the biggest annual events in the city’s visitor economy calendar. It generates millions of pounds for bars, restaurants, hotels and other businesses.
With thousands of spectators lining the streets the March with Pride was held jointly with KyivPride, the LGBT+ organisation of the Ukrainian capital.
Continuing Liverpool’s Eurovision legacy it welcomed Ukrainian delegates, and community members from across the UK and Europe.
This year showcasing a new format, Pride in Liverpool was celebrated across multiple zones across the city centre, which featured activities, community performances and local organisations.
It was complemented by fringe events from local businesses and a host of activity and entertainment throughout the city’s Pride Quarter.
Andi Herring, chief executive and co-founder of LCR Pride Foundation, the organisation responsible for delivering Pride in Liverpool, said: “Celebrating Pride has never been more important, with the prejudice and injustice that the LGBT+ community is facing in the UK and around the world.
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“As a city full of Pride, we have today stood together as a community, with our allies, to march in protest against those attacks on our rights and celebrate the beauty and diversity of our identities.
“We have also been honoured to march alongside KyivPride, to send a message of solidarity, unity, and hope. No matter where you are in the world, LGBT+ people demand the right to live freely, happily, and safely and we will continue to fight for these rights.”