Gloucestershire Pride

So the dates are in and this year shall see Gloucestershire Pride return to Gloucester, with the event being held at Gloucester's Historic Docks (on the Southgate Street entrance).

 

The March starts at 1pm and shall be from the Shire Hall in Westgate Street to The Cross, then into Southgate Street to the Historic Docks entrance.The location this year is considered by the organisers to be "quite a "coup" to get the Historic Docks, with its preserved Victorian warehouses etc, and very close to the City Centre".
 

More information on it's way.  

Last year saw Gloucestershire Pride being the largest, and indeed one of the only, Prides in the area.  This didn't dampened their spirits, so to speak, and they hope that this years festivities will be bigger and better than before.

Gloucestershire Pride alternates between Gloucester and Cheltenham each year. The venue for 2009 was Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham. The parade started at Pittville Park and made it's way through Cheltenham Spa, straight down the Promenade past the Queens Hotel into Montpellier Gardens.

 

Although 2008 operated on a budget of just under £2,000 – one of the smallest budgets of any Gay Pride in the UK, the event in Gloucester was a HUGE success and included a short rally outside the Shire Hall in Westgate Street, with an address from a county council cabinet member. Participants then marched on to Llanthony Secunda Priory, adjacent to Gloucestershire College. The priory held a veriety of performers, who all gave their services – and asked the organising committee if they could perform. Among those who appeared on the stage during the afternoon were the local bands The Bag, Bridget and the Big Girls Blues and Way Out West, who sang their debut version of "It’s Raining Men". Among the others appearing during the afternoon were singer Jamie Watson, who has enjoyed chart success in UK and Australia, and the winner of Swindon Pride Idol, Stevie Maull. The event attracted around 50 stalls, ranging from the Terrence Higgins Trust and trade unions to local LGBTQ groups and government/local government services. In terms of stalls it was bigger than Birmingham Pride.

Organisers were overjoyed that the torrential rains of 2007 and subsequent flooding has not been a repeat occurrence. It led to the cancellation of all outdoor Pride events in the area. Major changes had to be made to Gloucester Pride due to the devastation caused by the floods. The event took place but was significantly scaled down. The floods where the worst experienced in Britain for over 50 years and where estimated to have caused more than £2 billion worth of damage. Gloucestershire was the worst hit county and at one point 350,000 people were without running water.