Swindon and Wiltshire Pride: Lack of volunteers sees event cancelled

Swindon and Wiltshire Pride said it couldn't run the event without the community's support

An LGBTQ+ festival which welcomed more than 10,000 people last year will not take place in 2022 because there are not enough people to run it.

Swindon and Wiltshire Pride has been held for 12 years and returned in 2021 after an enforced break caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, a number of key committee members left last year, with no-one coming forward to replace them.

"We're absolutely gutted," said the group's Phoenix Stewart.

"It's such as shame because it's a community event and without the community's support we can't run it," added Swindon and Wiltshire Pride's community engagement manager.

Mr Stewart said they had been trying to fill key roles since last September but have struggled as "people just haven't come forward".

Pride pop-up shops toured Wiltshire ahead of last year's festival which attracted more than 10,000 people

The event had been due to go ahead in Swindon's Old Town Gardens on 13 August but the committee said limited numbers meant it could not be safely held.

Vice-chair of the group, Sarah Mason, said: "This decision was not arrived at lightly and we appreciate the disappointment not only from the LGBTQIA+ community but by the many Swindon residents who have come year on year to support us."

A smaller event may be later in the year and the group has asked anyone interested in helping organise the 2023 event to get in touch.

"If people want Pride to take place in the future we need them to apply and fill these voluntary roles," said Mr Stewart.

"We are all volunteers, we all have full-time jobs, families, kids, we do this out of the love for the community and to make sure the next generation have these type of events," he added.