LCR Pride Foundation are championing LGBT+ voices and asking for them to #BeHeard as they release full plans for the region’s flagship pride festival weekend.
Liverpool City Region’s LGBT+ charity revealed their annual theme ‘Be Heard’ will be at the heart of Pride in Liverpool’s 2024 programme, which will take place on 26, 27 and 28 July.
Pride Classical, a first-of-its-kind open-air orchestra concert, kickstarts Pride in Liverpool weekend and will see Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears light-up the mainstage alongside a stellar 32-piece orchestra, drag legend Danny Beard and West End stars Alison Jiear and Ashford Campbell. The family-friendly event is an important fundraiser for Pride in Liverpool the following day on Saturday, 27 July, with ticket sales going towards keeping the festival free to attend. Tickets are on sale from £30 plus booking fee with VIP packages also available at prideinliverpool.co.uk/classical.
March with Pride returns for what is anticipated to be the biggest march yet, with the muster beginning from 10.30am at St George’s Plateau before thousands make their way through Liverpool City Centre and onto Pride in Liverpool’s festival site on the world-class Pier Head site. Registrations for the march close on Wednesday, 17 July!
For the free festival on Saturday, 27 July, homegrown talent and tribute acts join a glittering lineup of stars who will take to the Pride in Liverpool Main Stage. Expect a showstopping set from headline act Katrina, formerly of Katrina and the Waves, and dazzling performances from Brenda Labeau, DJ Dan Walker, Filla Crack, Kelly Llorenna, Kelly Wilde, Lee Mobley, Linda Gold’s Funnyboyz, Lolly, MD Productions, Natalie Abel, Urban Cookie Collective and more.
In addition to this year’s main stage, the festival site at Pier Head will also contain a marketplace of LGBT+ merchandise and products, food & drink as well as lots of activities for all of the family. This year a dedicated Young People and Family zone has been added alongside a CommunityEXPO of local services and organisations. This year also sees accessibility take the centre stage with British Sign Language (BSL) on all stages and accessible viewing areas at the march and main stage.
Launching as part of the weekend programme is Pride Spotlight, an new initiative from LCR Pride Foundation that supports and celebrates LGBT+ artists, bringing some of our communities shining stars to a pop-up stage on the Royal Albert Dock across Saturday, 27 July and Sunday, 28 July. The iconic Lady Sian, Róis (What She Said, HomoBloc), Sarah (Chibuku Shake Shake & cofounder of the Eves’Drop Collective), WMNKND (Sonic Yootha) and Gogo Dancers (House of La Porta) are amongst the artists set to perform at the Royal Albert Dock Spotlight Stage.
Alongside the Pride in Liverpool Festival this year will also see the British Firefighter Challenge, an annual sporting competition coming to the city for the first time and set to be hosted by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. The unique event takes place on Water Street, which leads into the Pride in Liverpool festival site, across Saturday, 27 July and Sunday, 28 July. A limited capacity viewing area will be in place on Water Street alongside a ‘Blue Light Village’ of stalls.
Elsewhere across the city, at the Pride Quarter, The Masquerade Bar’s Street Party Outdoor stage returns with headline act The Cheeky Girls as part of a Pride in Liverpool Fringe event supported by LCR Pride Foundation. Over 12 LGBT+ Venues in the city’s Pride Quarter will be ready to keep the celebrations going until the early hours.
LCR Pride Foundation CEO Andi Herring said: “LGBT+ rights in the UK have gotten worse, or even ignored and removed in the last few years. This year’s theme ‘Be Heard’ is all about reversing some of the backtracking and pushing LGBT+ voices to the forefront. With the result of the recent General Election It’s never been more important to be loud, proud and unapologetically our authentic selves and use this to influence change.
“We are pulling out all the stops for this year’s Pride in Liverpool to ensure that our community is rightfully celebrated, but more importantly, heard. Pride is a protest as much as it is a celebration and I am so proud that we are able to bring together both of these elements, as well as collaboration, at this year’s Pride In Liverpool. We look forward to welcoming tens of thousands across the weekend.”
Pride in Liverpool 2024 Full Programme:
Friday, 26 July
Pride Classical – Pier Head, 5pm – 11.30pm
Saturday, 27 July
March with Pride – St George’s Plateau, Muster from 10.30am
Pride in Liverpool Festival – Pier Head, 12pm – 8pm
Pride Spotlight – Albert Dock, 1pm – 6pm
British Firefighter Challenge – Water Street, 9am – 6pm
Sunday, 28 July
Pride Pop-Up Bar & Stalls – Pier Head, 9am-6pm
Pride Spotlight – Albert Dock, 1pm – 4pm
British Firefighter Challenge – Water Street, 9am – 6pm
For all the latest information and updates, visit prideinliverpool.co.uk