Between football finals, the Grand National and bank holiday weekends, Liverpool knows how to throw a party and this weekend will be no different.
On Saturday, July 30, thousands will come to the city to celebrate Pride after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The event is set to be filled with music, laughter and dance and while it may be a dream come true for clubs to be packed wall-to-wall for party-goers, the night isn’t always so fun when you’re on the other side of the bar.
The ECHO spoke with Heaven Liverpool to find out what it is really like to work the “busiest” day and night of the year for LGBTQ+ venues. Andrew Gilman, the club’s assistant general manager, has been working Pride weekend for three years now. He said the key to it is to “make sure to get good sleep between shifts and make the most of your break".
READ MORE: Tragedy that sparked Liverpool's Pride celebrations
He told the ECHO : “Pride for sure is the busiest night, if not weekend, of the year for the venue with such a big influx of customers coming to the city and this side of town. However, due to our connections with Mathew Street, the Champions League is a close second.”
The club, which is often used as partygoers' last stop of the night because of its late opening hours, usually has a team made up of four drag queens and eight bartenders on a normal weekend. However, with thousands set to flood the streets of Liverpool in rainbow colours, sparkle and glam, the managers have learned from previous years and taken precautionary measures. This Saturday the venue will bring out a “whole family of entertainment” including 12 drag queens, five DJs and 20 bar staff, but despite the increase in employees, the shift can still feel overwhelming.
Andrew said: “It is very long, definitely the longest shift of the year for everyone involved. It is relentlessly busy and every Pride the venue reaches max capacity. At the same time, it is massively fun with a hint of chaos. We always ensure the staff get to feel and experience the fun of pride alongside doing their job and with our interior decorations, new stages and recent renovations we can't wait for everyone to see the space.”
The former Liverpool John Moores University student joked that he can still hear Kylie Minogue’ s music ringing in his ears days later and dreams about making “pink gin and lemo” for weeks. The criminal investigation and forensic psychology graduate added: “Everyone loves a bit of Kylie at pride and with multiple DJs booked, we will be blasting chart music, pop and upbeat pride favourites in our outdoor spaces and the secondary bar next door. Whereas Heaven will be playing what we are known for, after-hours house and tech.”
With celebrations being impacted by the pandemic over the last two years, the venue is making up for lost time by opening “longer hours than we ever have before”. Serving drinks from noon till 8am the following day, guests can enjoy a “fun camp old day”. But as an LGBTQ+ venue, Heaven wanted to emphasise the real meaning of Pride as with all the laughter and dancing happening, it's easy to think the fight for equality is over. Just over a year ago we were reminded this is not the case with an increase in reporting of homophobic and transphobic attacks.
Among the high-profile cases was a man who feared for his life while being attacked outside Tesco on Bold Street by a group of men calling him homophobic slurs and another bisexual man, then aged 19, who was left with two black eyes and a facial fracture after a man punched and headbutted him on Lord Nelson Street, moments after making sure his sister and her friend got back to their hotel safely. In an act of protest, Heaven performer, Angel Dewynter, alongside hundreds of others marched through the city in a show of defiance.
At the time, she said, to cheers from the crowd: “I just want to say how grateful I am for all you beautiful people being out here today. All these homophobic attacks that are happening in Liverpool are f****** disgusting, and they can't go on any longer. I have literally been messaged about getting macheted and run over, and we're still here today to fight for gay rights."
The fight is something which is still at the forefront of Heaven’s ethos still to this day. Andrew added: “We strongly feel Pride is of the utmost importance. We strive to be a safe space for the community and understand the need for events and organisations which provide a feeling of safety while letting people be who they want to be. A part of me would, of course, enjoy being out drinking and having fun with friends, however knowing that our work allows everyone else to enjoy Pride and experience it after the last few years of Covid-19 and the attacks make it all worthwhile.”
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