Bristol Pride 2021: Festival to return with special events

The 2019 Pride Day saw thousands of people parade through the city centre

Bristol Pride is set to return in the summer with indoor and outdoor events after the 2020 festival was moved online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bristol Pride celebrates and protests for the rights of LGBTQ+ culture.

The festival will be in a smaller format than previous years, but will feature a range of events held across the city centre, between 3 and 16 July.

A Pride Day event will also be held in Castle Park on 10 July with the return of the colourful pride march.

The special event will host a food market, family and youth areas and roaming live performances.

In previous years the festival and Pride Day has attracted more than 45,000 people to the city centre and the Downs with concerts from Sophie Ellis-Bextor and former Spice Girl Mel C.

The 2019 parade included drag queens and people in fancy dress

Bristol Pride Festival Director, Eve Russell, said they were excited to be delivering the festival in person again this year: "It's been an incredibly challenging year for everyone, and the LGBT+ community has been disproportionately affected.

"It feels right that we create events that will focus on community, giving us all the chance to reconnect but also to be loud, proud and visible once more."

Mrs Russell added that despite the support they had received over the past year, to hold the festival at its usual scale without government backed insurance could have meant a "risk the future of Bristol Pride" had there been a cancellation.

"We have loads going on in July and almost all of it can happen with social distancing if required, we can't wait to see you all there and we will be back on the Downs in 2022," Mrs Russell said.

Organisers said further details of the programme for the festival and the route of the parade will be released in the coming weeks.

In previous years the festival has also featured a music concert with artists such as Sophie Ellis-Bextor