Thousands gather to celebrate West Norfolk’s LGBTQ+ community in King’s Lynn with parade and festival of free entertainment

Lynn was transformed into a sea of rainbows on Saturday as Pride returned to the town for the seventh time - celebrating love and diversity and promoting LGBTQ+ equality.

The event was “packed with love, acceptance, solidarity and fun”, organisers said, with a parade through the town’s streets as well as a free family-friendly festival at The Walks - with “perfect” weather to boot.

The parade kicked off from the Tuesday Market Place, with KL1 Radio warming up the crowds, before it worked its way through the town centre, finally reaching the town’s park, where live entertainment, stalls and food were all on offer during the festival. Bar 100 provided entertainment later on in the evening, with an after-party at The Hob pub.

One of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Pride’s founders and organisers Jo Rust said: “This event takes such a lot of work to put on and we are all shattered.

“The day went perfectly. It was a really good atmosphere. Everybody was really happy and we had some amazing feedback.

“One family said that it was the most wheelchair-accessible Pride they had ever been to and the facilities that were put on meant they could stay all day rather than having to go after just one hour.”

Mrs Rust said another positive piece of feedback was regarding a teenager who had come out “some years ago” who was the “most engaged and happy” that their family had seen them because they were with “other like-minded people”.

“That means a lot to us,” she added. “That’s why we put it on. It’s about promoting equality, diversity, acceptance and tolerance.”

The festival, which included live entertainment from Kirk Heathfield, Alexa Vox, Arianne and DJ L.I.AM, was hosted by Mx Holly Would who replaced usual host Titania Trust as she was unable to attend this year.

Mrs Rust said a change in the layout of the facilities and stalls at The Walks may have given some the impression that this year’s Pride was not as well attended as previous years, but she said this was not believed to be the case.

“We had a really healthy crowd,” she said. “We took up all the arena space and it was far more spread out and our parade did seem longer.”

Although it was the seventh annual Pride in Lynn, it was only the fifth “full” celebration - due to previous disruption by the Covid pandemic.

A post on the King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Pride Facebook page said: “It was a day packed with love, acceptance, solidarity and fun.

“Rainbows and glitter aside, it does remain the fact that members of the LGBTQ+ community face prejudice and discrimination in their everyday lives - so the fight for equality continues.”

Organisers have thanked the event’s sponsors for helping to make it a success.

“Without our sponsors, we would not be able to provide the event as it is,” Mrs Rust said.

“It costs us extra to be accessible - we had a signer there who comes up from Brighton for example.

“All of our sponsors pull out all of the stops for us. They are such a huge part of the event - they make it possible.”

Although West Norfolk Council does not provide funding for Pride, Mrs Rust said it supports the event in other ways by lending its stage and providing fences, as well as a “huge amount” of staff support on the day.

Mrs Rust thanked Claire Thompsett, operations manager of public open space for the borough council, and her team - whose support “makes the difference to Pride”.

She said the Pride team were also appreciative of support from police and other emergency services, who - along with the employed security firm - make sure that it is a “safe and well-supported day”.

“A big thank you to the people that volunteered to steward the event - they too help make sure it’s safe and comfortable,” Mrs Rust added.

Among the local charities and organisations which were represented on Saturday were Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The QEH’s stall welcomed people throughout the day with colouring activities for younger visitors, games like ‘guess the number of skittles in the jar’, goodie bags and a chance to find out about the QEHKL charity and how LGBTQ+ staff are supported at the Trust.

Wayne Fysh, chair of The QEH Pride Network, said: “We have had an amazing day at King’s Lynn Pride. It’s been a great event with a fantastic atmosphere.

“At The QEH we lead by example in creating an inclusive culture and do everything that we can to drive positive change and ensure our colleagues are supported.

“Attending Pride really shows our commitment to this, and it was great to be out in our local community talking to people.”

Rebecca Martin, Joint executive sponsor of the Pride Network and medical director at The QEH, said: “Saturday’s Pride event is just one of the many opportunities we have to celebrate our LGBTQ+ community at QEH.

“We will continue to move forward on our objectives around staff training, monitoring, inclusive policies and increasing support for LGBTQ+ staff and patients.”

While it may be a whole year to wait for the next Pride in Lynn, the team is also organising an adults-only, fundraising ‘It’s a Sin’ event in October.

More details are set to be announced in due course. Follow King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Pride on Facebook or Instagram for further information.

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