Hundreds to celebrate town’s first Pride event

Other pride events in Wiltshire have proved popular

About 500 people are set to attend a Wiltshire town's first Pride event later.

Calne Pride will kick off at 13:30 BST with a colourful parade, ahead of live music until 22:00 BST.

Church Street will be closed to traffic for the event, which will have artists on stage at The Rec, Calne Rugby Club.

Organisers hope the event will “bring local people together".

There have been calls for a Pride event in the town for years, organiser Jessica Doidge told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

The town council tried to hold a parade last year but could not get a committee together.

Church Street in Calne will be shut for the celebrations

Ms Doidge said: "Residents of Calne and the LGBTQIA+ community were asked if there was interest for a larger scale event, and there was."

The Pride parade will be led by the White Horse Samba Band.

Throughout the evening PSG choirs, Saharah Sisters, Trixie Lee and Kylie Alike will also perform.

“I’ve only actually lived in Calne for about five years," Ms Doidge continued.

"The vibe I get is it’s such a good community and people are proud of where they’re from.

“Putting on an event like this is something I hope makes Calne a better place,” she added.