'Clacton Pride is where we can be who we are'

Organisers of the first Clacton Pride from left to right, Sam Kantor, Tami Page-Langley and Gray Adams-Hall

A seaside town is preparing to hold its first Pride event to celebrate people of diverse gender and sexuality.

Clacton in Essex will hold a host of activities to celebrate LGBTQ+ communities on Saturday.

Pride globally is marking its 50th anniversary and was set up following the Stonewall Inn riots and protests for gay rights in the USA in 1969.

Clacton Pride has received funding from the National Lottery help run this year's festival.

'Pride means a lot'

Tami Page-Langley hopes the event will help young people in particular to know they have a community for support

Organiser, Tami Page-Langley, 49, moved to Clacton with her wife ten years ago from London, where she said they had experienced homophobia.

She did not "come out" until she was nearly 30, after being bullied at a former workplace.

"Staff were fine, but some of upper management were harsh," she said. The experience left her suffering from depression.

Ms Page-Langley said she hoped Saturday's event would give others in the LGBTQ+ community more confidence to come out.

"Pride is where we can be who we are, in a place where we should feel safe, when it's not a safe place to be in a lot of areas," she said.

"Being gay is who I am, I'm not hiding behind a bush anymore and pretending I'm straight, it means a lot," she said.

'Clacton is more accepting'

Sam Kantor was keen to get involved in his first Pride event

Committee member, Sam Kantor, 18, from Frinton-on-Sea, said the event was particularly important to him.

He said Clacton was becoming "more accepting of queer folk", and he hoped the event would help more people accept difference.

"I come down in a dress sometimes, if it's a nice day, and nobody says anything to me."

'Pride is a protest'

Gray Adams-Hall who identifies as transgender says Pride for them is ultimately about securing equal rights

Gray Adams-Hall, 24, said the experience of being transgender has come a long way since they were at school, "when Section 28 was still a thing which meant my teachers couldn't tell me it was okay to be queer".

They said they still regularly face homophobic abuse, in the form of name calling, but does not bother reporting it, "as nothing will be done".

They said the fact "as a trans I would still be able to be offered conversion therapy despite a (government) ban for others" means the fight for equal rights continues.

"Pride, while it is a protest, is also a celebration of being your authentic self," they said.