Pride organisers say 2026 is the 'hardest year yet'

Pride events across England are facing their "hardest year yet", organisers say, with some cancelled, others scaled back, and rising pressure from both costs and changing attitudes.

"Pride is a beacon of hope in these challenging times," said Daryn Carter MBE, director of Bristol Pride.

But he said this year's event had been the most difficult they have had to organise due to spiralling costs, a lack of volunteers and a rise in prejudice.

The not-for-profit charity relies on fundraising and sponsorships to run the event programme, but Carter said its sponsors were down by about 25%.

"It's a massive drop... for us it makes things difficult, but for other Pride events it can be make or break," he said.

Bristol Pride - one of the biggest pride events in the country which returns with a schedule of events on Saturday - had to change the ticketing model and consolidate some of its stages amid financial challenges.

The annual event began 17 years ago and has grown to become one of the biggest Pride organisations in the country.

Carter added that other costs involved in running Pride had gone up "massively" and the economy was a "real challenge".

The pressures are being felt nationwide.

The organisers of Surrey Pride said it would be "impossible" to run this year's event due to rising costs and a decline in pledged corporate sponsorships.

Pride in Gloucestershire reported a £25,000 shortfall in its budget last year.

Earlier this month, the organisation announced the cancellation of Pride in the Forest of Dean.

A spokesperson for the organisation said: "Continuing without the funding required would put the wider work of Pride in Gloucestershire at risk, and that is not a position we can responsibly place the organisation in.

"We know how much it means to LGBTQ+ people across the Forest of Dean and surrounding rural communities, where opportunities to come together, celebrate and find community can be few and far between.

"We know just how important visibility, community and Pride are in rural areas," they said.

They added that their "commitment to LGBTQ+ people in the Forest of Dean remains unchanged" and they hoped the event could return in the future.

The organisers of Weston-super-Mare Pride said they were "really excited" to return on Saturday after a three-year hiatus due to a lack of volunteers.

"Getting Pride back has taken quite a lot of effort," event coordinator Sarah Hammond said.

"The willingness is there in the community, but I think that there is increasing amounts of lack of support from outside of the community and I think that's becoming really difficult.

"It's really important to have space where everyone can feel that belonging," she added.

Carter said it had been "a really challenging time" because of a "shift" in societal attitudes towards Pride and the LGBTQ+ community

"There has been this prejudice and hatred that we're seeing directed against the community and being directed at organisations and businesses that do stand up and support the LGBTQ+ community," he said.

Staff at the Black Cat Micropub in Weston-super-Mare said Pride flags flying outside the business had been ripped down and destroyed last week, but had since been repaired and hung up again.

The Clevedon Distillery in Clevedon also reported backlash earlier this month for a flying a flag and creating a window display for Pride.

Elsewhere around the region, a man was arrested for allegedly making homophobic comments and tearing down three Pride flags from an after-school club in south Bristol in May.

Pride Month takes place every June, bringing communities together through marches, parades and events celebrating LGBTQ+ identity and pushing for equality.

It has its roots in the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York, a defining moment in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

"Pride is as much needed and vital now as it ever was," Carter said.

"The roots of Pride are about pushing for equal rights and equality for the LGBTQ+ community and unfortunately some of the conversations we were having in the 70s and 80s, we're still having now.

"We still have to fight and push back and ensure visibility and equality for our community.

"Pride, for many people, can often be a real opportunity to come together and feel the love and support of the whole community and to have a safe space where you can be yourself.

"Pride is just magical for that… it's incredibly powerful," he added.

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