A TRIO of summer festivals brought Pride to Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside with boosts for businesses and wider communities alike, according to a new report.
The three, month-long events, from June through to August, comprised talks, discussions, celebrations and exhibitions in each borough to raise awareness of – and pride in – the LGBTQ+ communities.
And a report just published by organiser Out North East has revealed that they had a positive effect on businesses in each of the three boroughs and have left a lasting legacy of engagement.
Metrocentre hosted a day of Pride which attracted thousands of people who took part in activities and visited LGBTQ+ stalls, while the first Pride Lawn Bowling Tournament was held in Pelaw with 16 teams battling it out to win the trophy.
A celebration of Pride in Gateshead Town centre connected Trinity Square, VANE gallery and the railway quarter in a day of activities.
And, elsewhere, more than 1000 families enjoyed a sunny day at the Pride Family Picnic at Saltwell Park while hundreds took part in a 5k Pride Colour Fun Run at Chopwell Woods.
“The response, from all sectors and communities in Gateshead really was fantastic,” said Peter Darrant, chair of Out North East.
“Not only did people of all ages turn up in their thousands to our events, but businesses, councils, third sector organisations and charities all lent us their support to create three fantastic month-long festivals.”
However, the report also reveals the extent of abuse directed at the events, with Out North East receiving more than 2000 negative comments about the Pride festivals on social media from May to September.
“There is still a lot of work to do to change hearts and minds,” said Peter, “but, as our first summer of Pride in Gateshead showed, people are proud of who they are, their family, friends and the community they live in.
“For every negative comment we received, hundreds cheered, took part in activities and celebrated their pride. And that’s what Out North East aims to build on.
“It’s also been a great opportunity to educate people that Pride is still essential and important.”
Councillor Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council, said the event had been a huge success.
“We were incredibly proud to support the first Pride in Gateshead in August and I want to thank Out North East, for co-ordinating a fantastic programme of events and to our partners for being part of this incredible celebration,” he said.
“ Most of all I would like to thank everyone who came along to the events. We want Gateshead to be a safe place for everyone and having Pride in Gateshead as an annual programme of activities helps us to bring people together, celebrate our differences and remind us why we should continue to be proud of the place we call home.
“This year was a great success and I know it will continue to go from strength to strength in the future and we look forward to being part of this with Out North East.”
For further information and to download or view the full report, visit www.outnortheast.org.uk