Despite heavy rain on Saturday morning, around 500 people took part in the Annual Coventry Pride Parade, through the city centre, arriving at University Square, where the Lord Mayor of Coventry opened Coventry Pride 2019.
Paul Desson-Baxter, Chair of Coventry Pride commented, “We’ve had a challenging year with funding changes, so we were thrilled that so many people supported us despite the weather on Saturday, however we know that we have to deal with some rain to get lots of rainbows. We want to thank everyone who joined us throughout the weekend, Coventry Pride only exists because of the support of our community.”
Paul continued, “Pride matters, because the LGBT+ community still face discrimination or the fear of abuse; Coventry Pride provides a free, safe space for everyone to come together and be who they are. We saw families and friends of all ages and background sharing in the joy of pride.”
Special thanks go out to all our volunteers who make Coventry Pride possible. It is only because of the support of volunteers and our sponsors that we can deliver a free Pride festival in Coventry. The support we had from local bars and shops was great. A special thank you goes to our friends at The Yard in Coventry, Glamorous Coventry, The Herbert Art Gallery and Fargo Village for hosting events throughout the weekend.
We believe that Coventry Pride should be free for everyone to access, regardless of your ability to pay. Coventry Pride is a charity and is run by volunteers.
Coventry Pride costs between £40-50,000 to stage. This year, due to funding gaps, we have made huge cuts to budgets, but, thanks to the goodwill of our fantastic acts and supporters, have still managed to stage a great Pride. However, this is not sustainable.
We have therefore over the last weeks launched a crowdfunding appeal to enable future Pride festivals in Coventry to remain free. We appeal to anyone who can support us to donate now either via our Local Giving page.
Over the weekend numbers in the city centre were similar to last year: the Coventry BID reported numbers of 55,000 on Saturday and 33,000 on the Sunday.
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Notes for Editors:
1. Coventry Pride is a Registered Charity (Charity No. 1164035)
2. Coventry Pride’s website is www.coventrypride.org.uk
3. Coventry Pride is generously sponsored by Barclays, Coventry Building Society, and Coventry BID.
4. High res images for the press can be requested from publicity@coventrypride.org.uk