The cost of putting on events has increased, with venues, security and entertainers upping their rates (Picture: Supplied/Getty/Myles Goode)
With rising prices thanks to the cost of living crisis affecting almost everyone, organisers at some of the UK’s independent pride events are asking for your support.
The cost of putting on events has increased, with venues, security and entertainers upping their rates – and with less disposable income, LGBTQ+ Pride events which rely on volunteers and donations from the public are seeing their funds dwindle.
So organisers of some of the UK’s local prides are asking their communities to support their events this year.
CP Hunter is the director of Folkestone Pride in Kent, which has been running since 2017.
This year’s event will have a parade through the seaside town for the first time since 2019, with free entertainment during the day and ticketed events in the evening.
CP, who is 31, says they hope this will keep the event as accessible as possible, while still raising money to cover costs.
They explained: ‘I don’t think the big prides like London or Brighton will suffer as much because their sponsors aren’t suffering as much financially.
‘Folkestone Pride relies on people donating what they can, and when what they can becomes less, our funding becomes less.
‘A lot of our volunteers are having to take on extra jobs to pay the bills so they don’t have as much time to volunteer on top of that.
CAMP opened last June and has a committed group of local regulars attending its frequent events, as well as plenty of visitors who come to Margate Pride
‘We’re a community and a higher cost of living means higher isolation, which makes pride more important because it’s a real community, not just a party, we provide resources for people in many other ways.
‘Having free events during the day has always been part of Folkestone Pride, it’s not a particularly wealthy town and we want to make sure it’s accessible to everyone.’
Discussing the benefits of attending local prides over the bigger events, CP, who co-owns a bookshop in the town, said: ‘It’s not as corporate, we don’t answer to anyone and we have a lot more freedom.
‘The acts we’re going to put on are part of the community and are doing interesting things.
‘I love Britney Spears [who headlined Brighton Pride in 2018], she’s a queer icon but she’s not queer, and there are so many queer performers you could get but they wouldn’t bring in the same crowds.
‘If you support local prides you’re supporting actual queer people, it’s not just going to some PR company’s pocket.
‘Folkestone Pride is so much smaller as well, so you can actually meet people there who live locally in your community. It’s ideal if you’ve just moved somewhere or are thinking about moving – you can walk away with connections.’
Samantha Marshall is one of the organisers of Chichester Pride in Sussex, which is set to host its second annual event this year.
She said: ‘Everything has increased in price so it’s been more of a difficult planning year for us – and last year we had to deal with Covid.
‘Luckily we did sell out last year, so it shows we’ve made an impact and are a reliable event.
‘We’re looking for more sponsorships, we have to try hard to reach out to other businesses – but hopefully last year shows they should support their community.’
Derek du Preez, 36, is one of five co-founders of CAMP, a queer bar and nightlife venue in the Cliftonville area of Margate, Kent.
The bar opened last June and has a committed group of local regulars attending its frequent events, as well as plenty of visitors who come to Margate Pride.
Discussing the impact of increasing prices on his business and customers, Derek said: ‘It’s been really difficult, energy prices have increased dramatically and we get weekly emails from our drinks suppliers saying prices have gone up – and we feel we can’t pass on all these costs to our customers.
‘We’ve had to get creative, it costs money to hire talent to perform, but we were really surprised and overjoyed to see the community who turn up every single week, who have really taken on board that if you don’t use it you lose it.
‘We’re not making a lot of money, but we’re breaking even and it’s a delicate balancing act.’
Derek says Margate has become a queer tourism destination in its own right, with visitors taking day trips from London during the entire summer – not just on Margate Pride weekend.
He added: ‘I think Margate always had a queer vibe to be honest, and there’s something about Margate Pride that feels really grassroots.
‘If you come to Margate you get a real sense of the town and the spirit of it, and you’re face to face with the community.’
Margate Pride takes place on August 12 (Picture: DAVID JW BAILEY)
That, he says, is one of the benefits of attending local and independent Prides over the bigger, more corporate events.
‘There will be great performers at Dreamland but we have local people speaking, local performers, the parade through the town feels like the whole town turns up, you get that community spirit,’ Derek said.
‘It’s the opposite to the big events. It’s wild, and fun, and it feels like everyone is having the time of their lives.’
Even though they don’t know if they’ll receive Arts Council funding until next month, the organisers of Margate Pride are determined to put on a free event this year.
Amy Redmond, one of its directors, believes this year’s event could be their biggest yet.
She explained: ‘Our core mission is we won’t take corporate sponsorships, so even though we’ve been going for eight years we’re not going in the London or Brighton direction.
‘Organising a parade that goes down a hill costs a lot of money – for security, extra toilets, fencing, and rolling road closures.
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‘We’re still trying to be an art-led, DIY and grassroots pride and we will always put on events at The Oval bandstand with family workshops, speakers, music, and the parade.
‘We’ll always do that even if that’s scraping by on local donations.
‘Because our Pride is free more people are choosing us. Last year there was a train strike and it was probably our busiest year so far – I can’t imagine what this year will be like if there aren’t any strikes.’
Margate Pride takes place on August 12, Folkestone Pride on July 29, and Chichester Pride on May 27.
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‘If you support local prides you’re supporting actual queer people, it’s not just going to some PR company’s pocket.’