photos by Mike Daish. words by Sally Churchward.
Thousands of people flooded to Southampton’s Palmerston Park over the weekend to celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride at the second annual Party in the Park.
The two-day family friendly, inclusive festival featured a parade, entertainment, stalls and more.
Performers included Hunting Hearts, Maybe Gaga, The 45s, Amrick Channa and Bodacious.
The event is run by local charity People’s Pride Southampton which actively avoids corporate sponsorship and is funded by individuals, small and local businesses, unions and others who share their values.
With more than 8,000 people attending, it was pronounced a huge success and the organisers are hoping to bringing it to a new venue, Southampton Common, for 2024.
One of the organisers, Taegan Collyer, said: “It was wonderful to see the local LGBTQ community all coming together to be themselves so unashamedly. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, and I’m so proud of the entire People’s Pride Southampton team of volunteers who worked so hard over the last year and at the event to bring it all together.
“None of us take any pay from the charity and everything we brought was funded entirely by donations and sponsorships by values-aligned small businesses. We experienced a small issue opening our gates on time on the Saturday, and unfortunately our bins weren’t emptied for the Sunday, which meant some ended up overflowing. Other than that, everything else went off without a hitch and I couldn’t be happier. We love receiving feedback, so I’m eager to read the experiences of people who attended so we can make it even better for next year, where we hope to be on the common!”
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