Covid: Pride in Liverpool cancelled due to 'roadmap uncertainty'

It is the second year Pride in Liverpool and March with Pride has been called off due to Covid

July's Pride festival in Liverpool has been cancelled because of Covid-19.

Organisers of the annual event, which attracts about 50,000 people, cited safety risks around mass gatherings as the reason for having to cancel for a second successive year.

The Liverpool City Region's Pride Foundation said it had "explored all possibilities" but could not "guarantee" people's health and safety.

The government hopes to lift all Covid restrictions from 21 June.

Under its roadmap out of lockdown, the government would like all limits on social contact and the number of people who can attend weddings, funerals and other events to be removed from that date.

Organisers are already working on plans for an "incredible return" of Pride in Liverpool in 2022

But Lewis Collins, from the LCR Pride Foundation, said: "The ongoing uncertainty around Covid-19 restrictions and the limitations we face in terms of implementing Covid-19 security measures at a free-to-access event attracting 50,000 people has made it clear that we will not be able to deliver Pride in Liverpool or March with Pride safely and effectively in 2021."

The annual theme and Pride's digital programme will still be announced shortly, he added.

Mr Collins also said plans for an "incredible return" of Pride in Liverpool in 2022 were already under way.

The annual event officially started in Liverpool in 2010.

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