Ways to celebrate Pride in Newcastle

Northern Pride was back for another year with Pride in the City, celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community's achievements and highlighting the ongoing fight for equality. The joyful and inclusive event happens each year, with thousands of people taking part in the annual March through the city.

Pride in the city will be back in Newcastle in 2025. Read on to recap on 2024's events and happenings!

This year, Northern Pride presents Pride in the City Festival. Under the theme “unapologetically visible” the aim now is to bring over 80,000 people to Newcastle during the Pride weekend, by bringing all the festival favourites right into the heart of the city. The arena will be in Central Park in Times Square and will be where you get your music fix for the weekend! 

The Market Village this year will be in Grey's Monument, Old Eldon Square and Blackett Street. The stalls will be filled with community groups, charities, and our amazing makers and creators, many of which use their work and their art to improve the lives of the community.

Each year, thousands of people take to the streets in Newcastle and take part in the annual Pride March. This year, in line with the theme 'unapologetically visible', this year's March will again see thousands of people come together to fill the streets of Newcastle. The March will be full of community members, allies, local people and businesses. Groups of over 10 are encouraged to register here. 

Northern Pride's Pride in the City comes to a close every year with a candlelit vigil. The vigil takes place from 9pm on Sunday 21st July within the arena and is free to attend. The gates open 10 minutes before the start for none ticket holders to arrive. The vigil is an important part of each year's Pride Festival as it gives those in attendance time for reflection and remembrance. 

Part of Pride in the City, a select number of venues will be free to attend. These include:

• Northern Stage will be taken over by Curious Arts with a programme packed full of queer art and culture that informs its audiences who leave wanting more!
• The Lumo Platform will be on Grey's Monument. The Platform will have live performances that will bring the LGBTQIA+ community to the centre of the city.
• The Family and Youth Zone in The Assembly Rooms will offer hands on activities, arts and crafts and live performances. This zone caters for LGBTQIA+ families and queer young people.
• The Health and Wellbeing Zone in the Civic Centre will be available for advice, support, signposting of organisations and groups to help body and mind.
• The Sport and Active Life Zone will be in Northumbria Sport Central and will provide access to taster sessions, hands on experiences and raise awareness of the amazing safe and accessible sports and active life clubs rom across the region.
• The Hits Radio DJ Truck Stop will be on Grey Street with the best DJ's in town!
• NE1's Screen on the Green will be showing 'Strange Worlds', the first Disney movie featuring an out-gay character.
• The Pride Shuttle Bus will be pulling up at key festival zones and will be free to hop on and off.
• Eldon Square is open for all. Whether it is for food, drink or to find the perfect Pride outfit!

Before Pride in the City, there will be a whole host of Satellite Events taking place in the city. These include:

• Celebration Concert with Northern Proud Voices at Newcastle Cathedral (5th July). Get in the spirit for Northern Pride with a joyous evening of pop/rock tunes performed by the North East’s largest and longest-running LGBTQIA+ choir.
• Girls Theys & Says Pop Up Choir at the Discovery Museum (6th July). Maya Torres, Rhian Jade and the Girls, Theys and Slays Choir will be sharing their first original song thanks to the Get Ready Grant.
• Queer Bodies Are Holy is an exhibiton that will be in Grainger Market (6th-11th July). It shows 20 new works by artist and life model Emory Southwick (they/them), including digital art, gouache and acrylic paintings, and oil pastel drawings. These works capture the diversity of the queer population of the North East and celebrate how beautiful these bodies are in bright and colourful art.
• Queer Life Drawing (7th July). This life drawing class in Grainger Market is open to everyone and works exclusively with models on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, led by artist Emory Southwick.
• Miss Sandy Beach (8th July). This is a brand new work-in-progress by award-winning North East writer Alison Carr at Prohibition Cabaret Bar. 
• Priscilla Interactive Singalong Screening (10th July). Join Northern Pride at Tyneside Cinema and a cast of creatives as they celebrate 30 years of the cult classic, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, with a night to remember featuring live performances, hosted by PlastiQ.
• Mural of Queer Excellence (from 10th July). On Cross Street, a collection of queer icons by IDa4 made from hand cut stencils and spray paint. This mural celebrates the diversity and contribution of the queer community.
• Jaws (but gay) Cabaret (12th July). At Alphabetti Theatre, Mama Rhi and Mack are back for a Big Queer Under the Seashow!
• Iphathi Kubantu (12th July). Iphathi (Party) Kubantu (To the people) brings musical flavours from South Africa from Amapiano, Gqom, Tech-House and more.
• Chamber of Laughs (15th July). Taking place ay Civic Centre, join some of the best North East’s LGBTQIA+ comedians as they take over the civic chambers, to put queer voices at the centre of political debate in a humorous post General Election satire.
• Sorry, are you lost? (17th July). Head to Dance City to see a dance theatre work that will take you on a personal rollercoaster ride exploring the ups and downs of motherhood, queer identity, loss and visibility.
• Pride in Leadership Launch (18th July). CIC that works to elevate, connect and support LGBTQIA+ leaders and make them more visible. Having successfully built a community of LGBTQIA+ leaders in Manchester and London, we are now coming to Newcastle. Featuring a talk with Nick Forbes, former leader of Newcastle City Council.

Newcastle boasts a lively LGBTQIA+ scene, with numerous bars, clubs, and LGBTQIA+-friendly venues where you can celebrate Pride throughout the year. Why not keep the party going after Northern Pride Festival and head to the iconic Pink Triangle, centered around the Times Square area which is a hub for LGBTQIA+ nightlife. Head to Boulevard, Rustys and Powerhouse and join in the celebrations with fellow Pride-goers, dance the night away, and embrace the diversity that makes this community so vibrant.

Pride is a time to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community and be an ally. Educate yourself on LGBTQIA+ issues, challenge discrimination when you see it, and promote inclusivity in your own circles. Let Pride be a catalyst for change, and strive to create a world where everyone can live authentically and without fear.