Nottinghamshire Pride is a registered charity in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, England. It organises an annual

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

pride festival A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The events so ...

with the same name, held within the city of Nottingham. The event usually takes place during July. The charity has stated that "the purpose of Pride is to provide a safe focal point to bring together our community to celebrate our diversity and a sense of pride which for some people may be difficult in everyday life, due to prejudice and injustice." The event usually consists of a day-long celebration, including a parade, stalls, art, music and other activities. Nottingham Pride MMB 98

History

The first pride festival in Nottingham was held on Broad Street in 1997 under the name Pink Lace, a name it retained in 1998 and 1999, when Pink Lace was held at

Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and ...

2000s

In the year 2000, the festival took the name Nottingham Pride and was held on the

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. It runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London, and acts as a major thoroughfar ...

alongside the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

. Two pride festivals, Nottingham Pride and Pink Lace, were planned in Nottingham in 2001, but neither were successful. No pride festival was laid on in Nottingham in 2002. Nottingham Pride returned in 2003 at the

Arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

, where each subsequent Nottingham Pride festival took place until 2010, by which time the number of attendants had increased to a point where the park was no longer a suitable venue.

2010s

Nottingham Pride 2010 took place at the Forest Recreation Ground on 31 July. It was officially opened by the

Lord Mayor of Nottingham The Lord Mayor of Nottingham is a largely ceremonial role for the city of Nottingham, England. The position was historically Mayor of Nottingham; this was changed to Lord Mayor in 1928. The position is elected every May by Nottingham city c ...

, Brian Grocock, and the event was headlined by

The Cheeky Girls The Cheeky Girls are a Romanian singing duo consisting of identical twin sisters Gabriela and Monica Irimia (both born 31 October 1982). After appearing as auditionees on '' Popstars: The Rivals'', they achieved success in the UK charts with fou ...

, with other acts including Kenelis, Lisa Scott-Lee and

Betty Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beat ...

. Pride 2011 had over 20,000 visitors, with headline act

Ruth Lorenzo Ruth Lorenzo Pascual (; born 10 November 1982), better known as Ruth Lorenzo, is a Spanish singer and composer, perhaps best known in the UK for coming fifth in the fifth series of the British TV talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. She represe ...

performing. That year, E.ON UK was the principal sponsor of Nottinghamshire Pride. In 2018 Pride was held on Saturday 28 July in the city centre of Nottingham. The parade included many live events by various individuals, stalls, art and music, along with a pride parade that took place at 11 am. The parade began at Lister Gate and finished at Broad Street. Pride 2018 was sponsored by various organisations, including

Nottingham City Council Nottingham City Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards, elected every four years. The council is led by David Mellen, of ...

, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and

Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in McLean, Virginia with operations primarily in the United States. It is on the li ...

. In 2019 Nottinghamshire Pride was held on Saturday 27 July in

Nottingham city centre Nottingham city centre is the cultural, commercial, financial and historical heart of Nottingham, England. Nottingham's city centre represents the central area of the Greater Nottingham conurbation. The centre of the city is usually defin ...

References

External links

* Culture in Nottingham Pride parades in England Recurring events established in 1997 1997 establishments in England 1997 in LGBT history {{LGBT-event-stub