Suffolk Pride festival to go ahead 'on smaller scale'

Suffolk Pride will go ahead but without its parade along Ipswich Waterfront

A festival celebrating the LGBTQ+ community will take place this summer but on a smaller scale, its organisers said.

Suffolk Pride will hold a series of smaller events and forego its parade to keep people safe.

The weekend-long celebrations, which start on Friday, 23 July, will include entertainment "to be enjoyed either in person or at home via livestream".

Neighbouring Norwich Pride will also take place virtually, as in 2020.

Meanwhile the organisers of Brighton Pride 2021 have axed their whole festival over "virus uncertainty".

The last Suffolk Pride parade was in 2019

Suffolk Pride's chair Adria Pittock said: "We are really looking forward to putting on a series of Suffolk Pride events that will provide something for everyone who gets involved, both in person and on our live-stream.

"This is our way of raising the profile of the LGBTQ+ community in Suffolk and showing off some of our amazing talent," she added.

As well as free virtual and family activities, there will be a waterfront gig in Ipswich and a drag show party on Friday night.

The last in-person Suffolk Pride festival was held in 2019 with the emphasis on dispelling the isolation felt by many LGBTQ+ people living in rural communities.

Revellers at the Suffolk Pride march in 2019