Birmingham Pride
Encyclopedia
Birmingham Pride is a weekend-long gay
and lesbian
festival held annually in the Gay Village
, Hurst Street, Birmingham
, England
, over the Spring Bank Holiday
weekend.
Described by its organisers as the largest free
gay and lesbian event in the UK
, it usually features a carnival
parade
through the city centre on the Sunday (but the 2008 parade was cancelled), plus dance
and music
al events, funfair
rides, a temporary village green
, and street stalls and entertainments.
The 2010 theme is "Equality over the decades"
, itself the first Gay Pride Rally to take place outside the United States
. Although "hastily arranged and not very well conceived", the Birmingham event featured dances, two "Gay Days" in Cannon Hill Park
and a march up New Street
from the Bull Ring, culminating in a small rally on the steps of Birmingham Town Hall
. According to one of its organisers "Our aim was to announce ourselves and let Birmingham know gay people were here: ‘Here we are and here we’ll stay’" Two or three further such events were organised by Birmingham Gay Liberation Front until the organisation declined in the mid 1970s.
Annual gay festivals in Birmingham resumed in 1983 with the first "Five Days of Fun", originally known as "Gay Brum '83". Unlike the 1970s Pride weekends and the earlier "Gay Days", Five Days of Fun was not intended as a political statement but as a social event and celebration. Daytime and evening events would take place throughout the city's main gay bars and clubs – by now concentrated in the Hurst Street area – culminating in an It's a Knockout
competition between teams of the venues' staff.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
festival held annually in the Gay Village
Gay village
A gay village is an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people live or frequent...
, Hurst Street, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, over the Spring Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
weekend.
Described by its organisers as the largest free
Gratis
Gratis is the process of providing goods or services without compensation. It is often referred to in English as "free of charge" or "complimentary"...
gay and lesbian event in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, it usually features a carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
through the city centre on the Sunday (but the 2008 parade was cancelled), plus dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
al events, funfair
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
rides, a temporary village green
Village green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
, and street stalls and entertainments.
The 2010 theme is "Equality over the decades"
History
The first Birmingham Gay Pride Weekend took place on the 8–9 July 1972, one week after the first London Gay Pride WeekPride London
Pride London is the name of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender registered charity which arranges LGBT events in London, most notably the annual gay pride parade which is held in June/July. The most recent Pride London was on 2 July 2011. The 2010 event was attended by 1 million people,...
, itself the first Gay Pride Rally to take place outside the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Although "hastily arranged and not very well conceived", the Birmingham event featured dances, two "Gay Days" in Cannon Hill Park
Cannon Hill Park
Cannon Hill Park is a park located in south Birmingham, England. It is the most popular park in the city, covering consisting of formal, conservation, woodland and sports areas...
and a march up New Street
New Street, Birmingham
New Street is a street in central Birmingham, England . It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets. Named after it is Birmingham New Street Station, although that does not have an entrance on New Street except through the Pallasades Shopping Centre.-History:New Street is...
from the Bull Ring, culminating in a small rally on the steps of Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church became...
. According to one of its organisers "Our aim was to announce ourselves and let Birmingham know gay people were here: ‘Here we are and here we’ll stay’" Two or three further such events were organised by Birmingham Gay Liberation Front until the organisation declined in the mid 1970s.
Annual gay festivals in Birmingham resumed in 1983 with the first "Five Days of Fun", originally known as "Gay Brum '83". Unlike the 1970s Pride weekends and the earlier "Gay Days", Five Days of Fun was not intended as a political statement but as a social event and celebration. Daytime and evening events would take place throughout the city's main gay bars and clubs – by now concentrated in the Hurst Street area – culminating in an It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout was adapted from the French show Intervilles. It ran between from 7 August 1966 to 25 December 1988 on BBC1, 28 May 1990 on ITV, 3 August 1991 to 24 December 1994 on S4C and from 3 September 1999 to 6 January 2001 on Channel 5, produced by Richard Hearsey and Ronin Entertainment...
competition between teams of the venues' staff.
External links
- Birmingham Pride Official Site
- Birmingham Pride 2009 - BBC Birmingham, May 2009
- Views on Birmingham Pride - BBC Birmingham, 2008
- Pride - The Real Rainbow - BBC Birmingham, 2005
- Birmingham's Gay Village - BBC Birmingham
- The definitive guide to UK LGBTQ Pride - Birmingham Page