Frequently Asked Questions


What is Norwich Pride?

Norwich Pride is a celebration of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT)+ community and for everyone. It happens every year on the last Saturday in July and includes a picnic in Chapelfield Gardens as well as stalls, speeches and entertainment at the Forum and a Parade through the City Centre. There are parties, comedy and live music at venues across the city as well as films, art exhibitions and family-friendly events. Norwich Pride is organised by a group of friendly, creative, enthusiastic volunteers who want to ensure Norwich is a city where everyone can feel safe and proud to be themselves. If you would like to volunteer at Norwich Pride please email

How much will it cost to come along?

The central events at Norwich Pride are free – this is a true community celebration. There are lots of workshops and events around the main celebrations and you will need to pay for some of these.

How can I help?

There are a number of ways to participate. You can volunteer on the day of Norwich Pride or get involved throughout the year to help organise it.  If you have a business or community group that would like to support us, then please get in touch to discuss ideas. You can pay for advertising in our Pride Guide. Please email us at


How is Norwich Pride paid for?

Lots of people give their time, skills, and effort for free, to help make Norwich Pride happen but we also need some money (unfortunately, the tales of a crock of gold at the end of the rainbow turned out not to be true!) Please note that Norwich Pride is a not-for-profit organisation, and has no paid workers. If you would like to help with fundraising, make a donation or just want to find out more then email

Can we trust Norwich Pride with fundraising, donations and finance?

Norwich Pride has a number of safeguards to help ensure money is secure, properly managed and accounted for. All monies spent or fundraised are accounted for by the Treasurer and is subject to scrutiny from the Norwich Pride Trustees and Management Group. Each Team Leader has a limit on how much money may be spent before permission is required from the Management Group. All cheques must be co-signed by at least two designated Norwich Pride Officers. Financial statements are summarised in the minutes. The Norwich Pride constitution establishes that ‘if the Norwich Pride Collective should fold, any money or property remaining after payment of debts will be given to a charity with similar purposes’. If you have any questions about financial matters or would like to make a donation to support Norwich Pride please contact us at

What's with the Rainbow Flag?

The Rainbow flag is the international symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT+) Pride. The original Pride flag was hand-dyed by Gilbert Baker and flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978. After the assassination of Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978 demand for the rainbow flag greatly increased.

2009 saw the first Norwich Pride. We wanted to fill the streets of Norwich with rainbow colours to show the world that Norwich is a proud and vibrant city where everyone can be themselves without fear of being bullied because of who they are or who they fall in love with. We turned Norwich into a Rainbow!

Why wasn't there a Norwich Pride until 2009?

Who knows?! It’s amazing that a city the size of Norwich hadn’t had a Pride before 2009. There had been some commercial attempts to set ones up and there were some smaller community events in the past,  but 2009 was the first time that we had a Pride on such a scale right in the centre of the city. There were over 30 Prides happening across the UK in the Summer of 2009 and we were one of 3 cities celebrating Pride for the first time.

We are working hard to ensure that our Pride is sustainable – we want it to be an annual celebration that grows and grows.

What if I have a problem with Norwich Pride?

Tell us about it! We are a bunch of enthusiastic volunteers – human beings who can make mistakes. If you have a complaint, write to us at Norwich Pride, c/o TEN, 10 Cathedral St, Norwich NR1 ILX or email us at We will reply do our best to restore your confidence in Norwich Pride.

What's Judy Garland got to do with Pride?

This may be a myth but it’s a good one. Judy Garland’s funeral was on Friday 27th June 1969 and the gay men who flocked to it were impressed and empowered by the numbers of other gay men they saw there. Later, in the early hours of the morning, when the police did a routine raid on the Stonewall Inn, they fought back and the modern gay liberation movement began. On June 28, 1970, the first Gay Pride marches took place in Los Angeles and New York commemorating the anniversary of the riots. Similar marches were organized in other cities. Today, Pride events are held annually throughout the world, usually towards the end of June to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Why do we ignore protestors at Norwich Pride?

Our policy is to ignore protestors because we want to minimise the impact they have on the day. Norwich Pride is a celebration, a day for us all to feel safe and proud to be ourselves. We want the local media to be filled with positive images and sounds of LGBT people and their supporters and we want everyone to go away with wonderful memories. The protestors are a tiny group of people – there’s a handful of them and thousands of us – and we don’t want to let them spoil the happy atmosphere. We work closely with the police and it’s their job to deal with any hate incidents quickly and with the minimum disruption. If you feel distressed by the actions / comments of protestors, please report your concerns to the police.

What is the legal entity of Norwich Pride?

Norwich Pride is a community group of volunteers. We are a not-for-profit organisation. We have a constitution which establishes our mission and sets out how we work. Each year we form a  management group and appoint the following officers: chairperson, secretary and treasurer. The management group also includes people responsible for planning, publicity, access, arts, entertainment and fundraising. We meet regularly to make decisions as a group and then carry out actions in teams. We have Core Values and Ground Rules that guide our work and that of others who want to work with us. These are LGBT + friendly principles which can be summarised as respect, fairness, diversity and equality.

What do we mean by LGBT+ community and who speaks for the LGBT+ community locally?

First things first; Norwich Pride does not claim to speak on behalf of all LGBT+ people in Norwich and Norfolk. However the Norwich Pride volunteers do speak to the press, tv and radio about events that we organise and we respond to any queries or reactions as an LGBT+ organised community group. Norfolk County Council’s diversity officers estimate that approximately 50,000 people in Norfolk may identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. However some people may not identify with these terms and may or may not wish to be identified with a wider community. Bearing all this in mind Norwich Pride aims to work with all individuals, groups and organisations to achieve a variety of different aims under our vision to make Norwich a city where everyone feels safe and proud to be themselves. To this end Norwich Pride tries to help ensure that LGBT+ individuals can come together in different ways to have fun, make friends and make a positive difference to local life.

I have experienced homo/transphobia; what can I do?

Unfortunately many LGBT+ people will experience some form of discrimination, harassment or violence because of their identity. The important thing to remember is that you are not alone and there are ways to deal with it. Remember, you have legal rights and the police are here to help. For an overview of your rights at work, with housing or at school visit the Stonewall website. For practical advice on tackling discrimination because of your sexuality, visit the following pages in the Advice Guide from the Citizens Advice Bureau UK. To report verbal or physical violence which is known as a hate crime, contact Norfolk Constabulary. This section of their website explains their approach to this and how you can report it.

From the national perspective, the Equality and Human Rights Commission aims to make the country fairer for all and tackles discrimination based our gender, age, disability, race or religion as well as sexual orientation or transgender status.

Locally many public sector organisations such as Norwich City Council, Norfolk County Council, NHS and Police and Fire Services and voluntary sector have a duty to promote equality and actively do so, other organisations such as Unions, some charities and private sector companies are also making efforts to eliminate homophobia and transphobia for their staff and service users, many have been working with Norwich Pride to achieve this. Taking part in Norwich Pride can play a part in making this a safer, fairer place to be.

LGBT+ people have legal equality - why do we still need a Pride event?

LGBT+ people can now get married and have legal protection under the Equality Act 2010. There is generally an increasing acceptance of LGBT+ people in society, compared to just a couple of decades ago. This has resulted in legal victories, such as the case of the gay couple Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy who had been refused a double bed by hotel owners who cited their Christian beliefs as the reason for the refusal. However, overall the picture is mixed. On the one hand homophobic incidents are still common in society and in schools and are reflected by some articles written in the press. Rising numbers of homophobic and transphobic attacks are being reported. We are pleased that recent governments have made positive statements about recognising LGBT people’s contribution and distanced themselves from open homophobia of previous decades.

It is therefore a shame that the harsh cuts we are seeing administered to our public services will severely damage LGBT support organisations and cut off vital lifelines for many people. Youth services, HIV services and advice services have been hit already and Norwich Pride has written to the County Council questioning these cuts, in collaboration with the Norfolk LGBT Project.

Pride exists as a visible day every year for all people to be proud of who they are and celebrate their sexuality and gender, however they define themselves. Pride continues to push for absolute equality for LGBT people to be enshrined in law and in defence of the services that LGBT people are at risk from losing in the current economic climate.

Why is LGBT History Month important?

LGBT History Month was launched in 2005 in Britain to coincide with the abolition of the Conservative Party’s Section 28 legislation. Section 28 of the Local Government Act made it illegal for local authorities to promote homosexuality (i.e. to treat it as acceptable). This was sufficient to intimidate local authorities and force teachers to shy away from LGBT issues with students and each other. The impact of this legislation arguably continues to resonate in the education system and plays a part in the lack of challenge to homophobic bullying in schools. Now every February LGBT+ people organise events to celebrate who we are and the part we have played in society, both past and present. Norwich Pride actively supports and organises events during LGBT History Month in Norwich. LGBT History Month is a vital part of ongoing campaigning and reminds us how far we have come in terms of equality.

Visit the Norfolk LGBT History Month website

Visit the national LGBT History Month website

What's the policy on tackling racism at Norwich Pride?

Our mission is to ensure that we live in a city where EVERYONE can feel safe and proud to be themselves and we will not tolerate prejudice or discrimination in any form. We work positively and creatively to ensure that everyone feels welcome at Norwich Pride, whatever their age, sex, gender, race, colour, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief. We ask people to think carefully about their language and avoid abusive or discriminatory words. We recognise that racism is still part of our society and may arise despite our best intentions, so we encourage people to express their concerns to us.

If you experience or witness racism at Norwich Pride please contact us at and we will address this as quickly as possible.

What's the policy of writing on the Norwich Pride Facebook Wall?

Our mission at Norwich Pride is to ensure that we live in a city where everyone can feel safe and proud to be themselves. We want to ensure that our Facebook Wall is a safe, positive space too. We therefore reserve the right to remove posts and comments that are deemed offensive and could cause distress.