Birmingham Pride loses £15k council sponsorship

The two-day event is one of the UK's largest Pride celebrations

The director of Birmingham Pride said he was disappointed the city council removed £15,000 in financial support for the annual LGBTQ+ event.

Lawrence Barton said the authority was "not supporting our event, just earning revenue from it".

He added the authority had also charged an additional £7,040 plus VAT for the use of the vacant Smithfield site, home to the two-day festival, which had been free of charge since it moved there in 2021.

The council's Labour leader John Cotton told Pride organisers in an email: "the council is currently facing serious financial challenges and must maximise its income to help offset budget pressures".

He added the £7,040 charge was reduced from £31,295 as Pride was a community event.

The council had provided £15,000 in sponsorship to the festival in 2022 and 2023 - after it previously removed financial support in 2010.

The authority is currently preparing to set out how it will plug a £300m funding gap in its delayed budget after it declared effective bankruptcy in September.

Mr Barton, who also runs a number of LGBT+ venues in the city, added: "To face being charged for use of a space which ordinarily lies empty has a very negative impact on us."

Up to 40,000 people have attended past events

Birmingham Pride was founded in 1997 and has become one of the biggest events in the city, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to a free parade and, in recent years, a ticketed event featuring major music artists.

This year's festival includes performances from Eurovision winner Loreen, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and M People singer Heather Small.

The event generates tens of millions of pounds a year in economic activity for the city, organisers said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the council said: "The council is currently facing serious financial challenges so we are unable to waiver the total charge for using the Smithfield development land to host the Birmingham Pride Festival 2024.

"We will continue to work with the organisers to ensure that the Birmingham Pride Festival continues to be a successful event."