A LEADING North East LGBT+ charity is proving that Dreams can come true, after unveiling plans for its most ambitious festival yet.
Northern Pride has revealed an extensive six-month schedule of events for UK Pride 2020, sponsored by Barclays, which culminates in the weekend celebration at Newcastle’s Town Moor from 17 to 19 July.
And organisers have given festival-goers plenty to look forward to, with the announcement that multi-platinum artist Gabrielle, who rose to fame in 1993 with her debut single Dreams, is this year’s Sunday headliner.
The award-winning singer-songwriter went on to sell more than five million albums in a career spanning more than 25 years, with her most recent release, Under My Skin, charting in the top 10.
Also taking to the Manchester Airport Main Stage on Sunday is television personality Gok Wan, who is best known for his work on shows such as How to Look Good Naked and Gok’s Fashion Fix and will entertain crowds with a DJ set.
And along with a first look at this year’s acts, organisers have also announced collaborations with other community groups – such as Newcastle Mela – and a series of events taking place in the coming months, covering topics from sports to comedy to raising awareness of mental health.
In March, the charity will commemorate Trans Day of Visibility with a Forth Plinth – a platform at Grey’s Monument to showcase trans, non-binary and gender diverse performers – and it will celebrate those who have made an impact on the LGBT+ community with its Local Heroes awards evening in June.
Other events include Queer Comedy, Queer Question Time, Wrestling All Stars, the Be You Youth Prom and the first UK wide staff conference for the LGBT+ network within the NHS.
And anyone who has supported the festival for a number of years will also recognise the return of Paws with Pride in June – a family-friendly pet show featuring stalls and prizes.
Ste Dunn, chair of Northern Pride, is confident that this year’s festival will be the most diverse to date.
“As the hosts of UK Pride 2020 we felt it was really important to go all out this year and we are delighted to have Gabrielle joining our line-up, as she is an incredible performer who is sure to put on a fantastic show,” he said.
“There are LGBT+ people in all walks of life and we wanted to reflect this, so we have planned a really exciting and varied programme of events over the next six months which we hope will have really wide appeal.
“We are very grateful to have Barclays returning as our main sponsor for another year because our huge plans simply wouldn’t be possible without their support.”
The full line-up for the summer weekend is yet to be announced, with plans to shine a spotlight on more local performers.
For full details about the planned events and more information about Northern Pride, visit www.northern-pride.co.uk or search northernprideuk on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.