Coventry’s premier LGBT+ community organisation announces an exciting summer of Pride events, including partnership art installations and provocations with Coventry City of Culture Trust.

Coventry Pride, the city’s primary LGBT+ community organisation, has announced an ambitious summer of events, initiatives, and installations, which it has created and curated to deliver an exciting and inclusive summer of Pride. As the city looks forward to its year as City of Culture, the city’s leading LGBT+ charity has secured funding and support to ensure that the community can fully engage in a diverse and representative programme, featuring orchestral concerts in the Cathedral ruins, experiential exhibitions in the city centre, a thought-provoking film production on cultural diversity and family fun in green spaces; all designed to complement the centrepiece the annual Pride festival itself. The theme for this year’s Pride event will be Pride and Joy, reflecting the yearning felt by many, within and external to the LGBT+ community for moments of pride and joy, lost during a year dominated by the global pandemic.

Chair Paul Desson-Baxter said, “We’re proud and pleased to be launching such a dynamic, ambitious programme of events over the next few months. The entire UK has had to deal with the challenges presented by the pandemic, with members of marginalised communities like ours, often feeling the heaviest of impacts.

“We wanted to provide opportunities for moments of joy, as well as space for the community to reconnect, reflect and be proud. We have so much more to announce in and around each of these headline events, which we have actively designed to be inclusive and reflective of our various intersectional communities. We’re pleased to be working with some brilliant partners including Coventry ArtSpace, the Tin Music and Arts venue and Belgrade Theatre. We’re delighted to be able to launch this ‘first look’ and invite those within and external to the community to follow us on socials to ensure they don’t miss any of our updates over the coming weeks.”

The headline dates for the Summer of Pride programme are as follows:
Sunday 26^th & Sunday 27^th June:              WHY WE PRIDE

Saturday 17^th July:                                        CLASSICALLY QUEER

Saturday 7^th August:                                    PRIDE & JOY – COVENTRY PRIDE 2021

Saturday 14^th August:                                  FAMILY FUN DAY

Wednesday 1^st September:                         ART IS A PROTEST

Wednesday 20^th October:                          MELANATED SPACES

Funding for much of the programme has been provided by the Coventry City of Culture Trust and more details, as well as opportunities to purchase or book tickets for each of these partner events will be announced soon.

The charity is seeking to engage a wide range of people, from volunteers, entertainers and stall holders for Pride and Joy 2021, through to artists, performers, and research participants for its partnership initiatives with Coventry City of Culture, including the appointment of several commissions for LGBT+ artistes, with application details scheduled to be announced over the next 4-6 weeks via social media.

There remain opportunities for local and regional businesses to demonstrate their support through sponsorship too.

Members and allies of the LGBT+ community who would like to be involved in the programme should follow @pridecov on Instagram or Twitter or find Coventry Pride on Facebook.