Sheffield Community Celebrates Pride 2009
Posted on: Aug 4, 2009
Category: Pride News
The first official Sheffield Pride took place at Endcliffe Park on Saturday 20th June 2009, and was enjoyed by a massive 5,500 individuals from across Sheffield, with coaches full of revellers visiting from Manchester, Doncaster and beyond! Sheffield’s community of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender people and their friends and supporters came out - as did the beautiful weather.
‘It was ace to see such a mixture of people enjoying the day. The attitude free atmosphere was amazing and I really think everyone felt welcomed and as a result had a fabulous day. It’s great when you see families, couples, friends and individuals from all walks of life, of different sexualities, and different beliefs come together to celebrate LGBT life in such a way.’
Sheffield Pride 2009, truly made its name as the largest Pride event in South Yorkshire and showed a marked improvement in extensive and varied ways on the previous LGBT event held in Sheffield last year, South Yorkshire Pride 2008. Bigger acts, more advertising and more to do at the event, attracted even more people than expected.
The main stage showcased an array of artists representing a great deal of variety on the Sheffield music scene. Headliners, Scooch, performed camp hits and Eurovision songs, much to the delight of the Sheffield Pride revellers. The Irwin Mitchel Civil Partnership Fayre’s fashion show was a major highlight as were the much attended workshops provided within the community area.
For those who wanted to carry on the Pride celebrations well into the night the Official Pride After-party – ‘Pride goes Poptastic’ - at Hallam University Buildings was the perfect opportunity. It was packed with over 800 people enjoying the pop and indie delights of the Poptastic DJs with special appearances from boy band Frixion, new artist Kelly Pepper and local girl Laura Steel.
‘We wanted to make the event about fun; about inclusivity and about community. We didn’t want Sheffield Pride to be like any other Pride event, and ultimately wanted it to represent the individuality and distinctive aspects of Sheffield as a city and it’s communities. The feedback we have received has been fabulous – we look towards next year’s event, and will strive to make Sheffield Pride 2010 even better.’
If you would like to help out with next year’s Pride in 2010 please e-mail info@sheffieldpride.org.uk or contact the committee via their facebook profile. For more information about Sheffield Pride and future Pride events please visit our website on www.sheffieldpride.org.uk .