The online line-up for this year’s celebration is packed with two weeks full of LGBTQI talent
BY SOPHIE GRIFFITHS, IMAGE BY DAN REGAN
The annual Bristol Pride festival will move online this year due to the impact of COVID-19, but will still present a series of Pride favourites and much-loved events.
The festival, which has already announced plans to postpone until September, will take place from September 1-12 with all events delivered digitally.
Bristol Pride is a unique and important event that celebrates the LGBTQI community and offers the chance to connect and bring people together. As well as showcasing the wonderfully diverse community, Pride is about overcoming prejudice and hatred, reducing is isolation, and showing members of the LGBTQI community that they are not alone.
Some LGBTQI icons you can expect performances from on the Pride day include Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Toya Delazy and Asifa Lahore.
With a full line up of all the events taking place across the two weeks soon to be announced, highlights to look out for include:
The Pride Dog Show which will see exciting videos and photos that include waggiest tail, best trick, proudest pup and most like owner. Submission remain open until midnight on the 11 August and this year even include the chance to enter cats and other animals too.
The Theatre night will return with a special commissioned online performance of SPLINTERED, based upon interviews with queer women in Trinidad & Tobago exploring the joy and celebration of Carnival but also what that means when you are queer in a culture that can be homophobic.
Comedy Night with online performances from stars Jayde Adams. Tom Allen, Hannah Brackenbury and Ceyla AB along with a special video from Mawaan Rizwan who performed at the festival last year.
Following on from this summers Black Lives Matter protests Pride have teamed up with KIKI Bristol to host a special conference to bring together several QTIPOC (Queer, Trans, Intersex People of Colour) organisations to discuss recent events, intersectionality, visibility and spaces within the LGBTQI community, as well as celebrating Pride together. There will also be a special Pride performance night hosted by House of Mannington a Bristol based drag collective who endeavour to offer an eclectic and diverse drag experience.
Daryn Carter, CEO of Bristol Pride said: “Bristol Pride is one of the biggest Pride events in the country and whilst sadly because of COVID-19 we are unable to hold a physical festival this year but we are really excited to be able to bring so many events to the community in September which will all be free to access. We have some incredible acts lined up for this year’s Pride Day event and some never seen before footage from previous Pride festivals.
“The Parade is such a vital part of what Pride is, so I know our Virtual Parade will be a very special event to watch and for people to take part in and bring the Pride joy and happiness to so many at this worrying time. I can’t wait to see all those amazing outfits and flags flying.”
For more information on the events and artists, this year visit the Bristol Pride website.
