About us
Grab a cuppa, sit down and let’s get to know each other, shall we?
Hello!
If you’re reading this, you probably know who we are. And if you don’t… hello, wonderful to meet you!
Pride in Hull is a registered charity, run by a small but perfectly formed committee of volunteers on a not-for-profit basis. Members of the team have been involved in Pride in the city since the very first event, which was (incredibly!) over 20 years ago.
It’s been quite a journey.
2002
Where it all began! The very first Pride happened out of an urgent need for LGBT+ representation in the city. It took place in Queen’s Gardens – a ramshackle bunch of a few hundred people with a really loud sound system and an awful lot of enthusiasm.
2017
In 2017, we were named the inaugural UK Pride, as well as the UK City of Culture. We celebrated LGBT50, the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, with an incredible homecoming – returning to Queens Gardens for the first time since 2003, bringing 44,000 friends with us.
2019
We built on the success of our City of Culture year in a BIG way.
We welcomed over 50,000 people to the party in 2019… (that’s a fifth of the population of the entire city!)… as well as incredible upcoming LGBT+ talent and icons like Alaska 5000, Claire Richards and Melanie C (well, almost). Pride in Hull marked 50 years since the Stonewall uprising by parading an original Gilbert Baker Pride flag through the streets and volunteers carried specially designed placards marking 5 decades of LGBT+ protest.
The remit of our event is simple. We’re here to celebrate the LGBT+ community with our friends and allies. We’re here to celebrate diverse sexualities and genders. We’re here to uplift communities. We’re here to tell people that they do fit in here. And we do it with a great big massive parade, equal parts protest and party.
We’re one of the biggest events in Hull and… not to brag, we’re one of the biggest free Pride events in the whole country too.
2020
The global pandemic hit, which resulted in the cancellation of our usual 2020/2021 events, Pride in Hull adapted and were responsive to the safety of our community, offering an online ‘Home Edition’ event streamed digitally this year. This project offered streams of local artists, performances and videos from across the United Kingdom which could be enjoyed safely from home. Although this digital offer was a new and unknown medium for us, insight data reported that almost 100,000 people engaged with our Home edition, celebrating pride from their own homes. We also offered ‘Pride Packs’ which were available to offer and worked in Partnership with Norwich Pride who provided us shared content, before offering a full evenings Radio entertainment in our Pride take-over of BBC Radio. This event may have been different, but allowed isolated individuals from across the globe to join us at Pride in Hull: an offer we intend to replicate going forward to stream our physical activities online to allow those who cannot formally attend Pride in Hull for a variety of reasons to be part of something amazing in 2022.
2022
Pride in Hull is back, with a new team of trustees and volunteers, our partners ready to scream and shout about Pride in Hull!
We ventured into new elements showcasing the tent of imagination and an adult only area. The new elements were about education and inclusively.
Along side our main pride event, we celebrated our 21st birthday! We did this in style by putting on a succesful first ever birthday event Pride Party in the Park! We went on into the evening celebrating 21 fabulous years of Pride in Hull.
2023
We are back, bigger and better than ever before with a new theme: Access All Areas, and this year the main stage for Pride in Hull is at the fabulous venue, Zebedee’s Yard with other activity happening all around the city centre.
2024
This year ‘We’ve Got Pride Down to a T’.
Parade, Protest, and Party with Pride in Hull **Important Announcement** This year to help us raise funds for Pride in Hull, we are asking entrants to the Parade, to make a voluntary donation of £5.00. Your funds will make a vital contribution towards our annual FREE event. Supporting a Great Cause Pride in Hull is a Registered Charity (Number: 1170314).
You can register for the Pride in Hull Parade HERE.
Who we are
Andy Train (Chair)
As the Chair of Pride in Hull, Andy oversees the work of the board and ensures the charity is meeting its charitable objectives, this includes health & safety, safeguarding and legal.
Rich Innes
Rich is our Finance Director and Head of HR.
David Gillyon-Powell
David does a fantastic job of managing, supporting and motivation our growing team of amazing volunteers.
Sara Morton
Sara oversees the booking for the stalls and stands and the annual Pride parade.
Laura Toyne
2024 is Laura’s third Pride in Hull Event. Laura sources and organises the infrastructure including the stage, marquees and toilets, as well as, organising operational teams for the day such as the bar, security and the dreaded Sunday morning clean up of glitter & sparkles!
Lee Pearson
Lee is our head of partnerships, working with and supporting all of the sponsors and partners of Pride in Hull.
Want to get in touch with us? Head over to the contact page.
Pride in Hull is a non-profit charity run by volunteers. Help us keep the rainbow flag flying by donating.