PRIDE SPECIAL
FLYING THE FLAG LOVE AND PRIDE! ENERGETIC PARADES, VIBRANT ENTERTAINMENT AND HOPEFULLY A DASH OF SUN – MIRIAM BALANESCU FINDS OUT WHAT’S ON AT THIS YEAR’S CAMBRIDGE PRIDE
people expect from a Pride event,” he says. “But at the time, big Pride events like London and Birmingham had become very commercial and didn’t seem to reflect the whole LGBTQ+ community. It didn’t feel inclusive. Ten years on, we saw that the Pride movement had begun to change.” What Cambridge Pride has in common with the Pink Festival is that entertainment and fun are a route towards unifying communities. “Music is a great equaliser,” says Paul. “It doesn’t matter who you are, what your sexuality or gender is, music is something that everybody enjoys. “In an ideal world, we wouldn’t need Pride,” Paul continues. “One of the reasons it’s important is that in East Anglia there aren’t a lot of opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community to get together. There used to be a big scene with pubs, bars and clubs. There are still people that feel like they don’t fit in. We’re not at a point yet where everybody is completely comfortable with being who they are.” Each area at this year’s Pride is painstakingly planned to give everyone in Cambridge’s myriad communities a space. Veering off from the main stage, there will be a community hive peppered with local organisations, a youth and family area, art sessions, free wellbeing sessions (including meditation and yoga), food and drink stalls, topped off by the park parade taking centre stage on Jesus Green. The Commonwealth Games baton will even arrive at its final destination at the event. “It’s something everybody can get involved with, no matter their mobility or ability,” says Paul. “It’s got a summer fete feel – we want it to be as relaxed and accessible as possible.” Smaller – and perhaps closer-knit – than Pride events elsewhere, the event is merely the beginning for Cambridge Pride, a day set to get bigger and better as the years go on. Cambridge Pride will take place at Jesus Green on 9 July.
or anyone who has been to a Pride event, you will know the surge of joy that comes with being a part of it. Cambridge Pride takes
inclusivity as its pillar, carefully planned to help everyone, no matter what age, gender or background, feel at home. “Towns and cities in East Anglia are much more spaced out than elsewhere in the country,” says Paul Hyde-Clarke, chair of Cambridge Pride. “We needed to create an event where people could travel from far and wide to one place, to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance.” Cambridge Pride is still young. Now in its second year, its first edition was pre-pandemic, in 2019. Paul was initially involved with the Pink Festival, and brought on board by what would become the Pride committee. “We’d always talked about doing something more like what
UP YOUR STREET When Diarmuid Hester, an academic and writer, moved to Cambridge, he felt a sense of absence. In contrast to Brighton’s bustling queer scene, Cambridge had a lack of obvious LGBTQ+ spaces. “I thought it was a matter of being a stranger in a new town,” says Diarmuid. “But I talked to friends, and they said it can feel like a fragmented community.” Armed with his literary knowledge, Diarmuid set out to document the city’s queer past, teaming up with friend and audio producer David Bramwell to create A Great Recorded History.
OPEN TO ALL Cambridge Pride is keen to make the event as welcoming and accessible as possible, including family and youth activities
36 JULY 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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