Greenwich Pride 2023 is back!
Without wanting to sound like somebody that drives a Foxtons-branded Mini Cooper, one of the best things about London is the way it’s made up of mini- neighbourhoods, each with their own strong identity — yeah, Dalston and Clapham are in the same city, but that’s where the similarities end.
You really see this in the summer months when different localities have their own Pride celebrations alongside the capital-wide event in early July. This month, it’s the turn of lovely, leafy Greenwich, home to a couple of cracking gay venues. On Saturday 19th August, they’ll be joining forces for a local Pride celebration and raising money for the likes of THT, MacMillan, akt and Mind.
To start, there’ll be a stage outside Ye Olde Rose & Crown, on which fifteen queens will be competing in a charity version of Drag Race — hosted by bingo babe Miss Aisles. This’ll go on to about 9pm and after that, it’s all over to the George and Dragon for dancing until stupid o’clock.
If even at this late-summer stage you’ve still got the flavour for gathering together with LGBTQ+ folk and havin’ a laugh in aid of worthy causes, leave this date in your diary free and pop yourself over to Greenwich followed by the Afterparty at The George & Dragon, Lewisham.
UK Black Pride returns to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for this year’s annual event
After a record breaking event in 2022, that saw over 25,000 people party and protest in Stratford, UK Black Pride returns to celebrate its 18th year of bringing the community together. Once again taking place in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the annual event will take place on Saturday, 19th August 2023.
The world’s largest pride celebration for LGBTQI+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern-descent has continued to grow year-on-year. From a bus-load of attendees travelling to Southend-on-Sea to 10,000 people in Haggerston Park, UK Black Pride is proud to return to Newham, the largest space the organisation has occupied since its inception.
UK Black Pride co-founder and Executive Director Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah says, “when myself and a group of Black lesbians set out to create our own Pride event, as the others felt exclusive and unwelcoming, we were told we’d never get anyway. That no one would support us and that any community built around a ‘Black pride’ would fade away. Here we are, 18 years later. Bigger, bolder, braver and brighter than ever. It’s been a journey, and we have to thank everyone from the community that has been with us at every and any stage. 2023 marks a historic year for us, and to be able to return to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, where we saw 25,000 people share their joy and queerness with us, is incredible. We cannot wait to welcome our family back and continue to leave a legacy for the next generation of Black and POC queer love and progress”.
