Volunteers from Portsmouth Pride are on a mission to make Portsmouth the city that hosts UK Pride in 2025.
The bid will be submitted to the UK Pride Organisers Network (UKPON) and will showcase why Portsmouth should host this honour.
The volunteer team, who celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community in the city, will now be working hard to prepare a full bid in collaboration with local businesses and community organisations across Portsmouth.
The bid, which will highlight Portsmouth Pride’s achievements and ambitions, will be reviewed by more than 130 Pride organisations across the country.
Portsmouth Pride will deliver a presentation at the annual UKPON conference in November, where members will vote for who they think should host UK Pride in 2025.
Tally Aslam, the Chair of Portsmouth Pride, believes the city is in a strong position to submit the bid. She said: “We are extremely excited to announce that we are formally bidding to host UK Pride in Portsmouth in 2025, to celebrate 10 years of Portsmouth Pride, bringing the whole country’s attention to Portsmouth as a leading city for inclusivity.
“The title of UK Pride is awarded to a different town/city every year and we want to show the UK what Pride in Portsmouth looks like, and to bring a whole group of new visitors to the city as we secure our place as an LGBTQ+ seaside destination.
"Having the incredible team in place, plus our principle of being free and unfenced means we’re now in a really strong position to push ahead and develop our next two years of growth."
The announcement of the bid took place at the official Portsmouth Pride launch event hosted at the Spinnaker Tower recently. The evening saw members from across the community, including politicians and business owners, come together to start the official countdown to Portsmouth Pride, which will be held this Saturday, 10th June.
CP, the Vice Chair of Portsmouth Pride, said: “We’re excited to be bidding to bring UK Pride to Portsmouth in 2025 and have been overwhelmed by the support already given by local businesses, political and civic leaders. As one of the biggest free, unfenced and community-focused pride events in the country, we’d love to show the UK what we do so well in Portsmouth.”
