Pride celebrations are some of the highlights of the summer, as the LGBTQ+ community gathers to celebrate with huge festivities.
Northern Pride, the biggest event in the North East, has announced that it will return to Town Moor again this year with a stellar event.
Northern Pride consists of multiple events, including the march, community village and festival arena. Expect entertainment, food, drinks, charities, organisations and campaigners to pack Exhibition Park with stands, stalls and displays.
The event will come to a close with a Candlelit Vigil at 9pm on Sunday, July 23 to reflect and remember LGBTQ+ people who have sadly lost their lives. Here’s everything you need to know about Northern Pride’s events and how to get festival tickets.
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When is Northern Pride?
Northern Pride will take place over the weekend of July 22 and 23, 2023. Events will kick things off with the annual Pride march. In 2022, 25,000 people marched through the streets of Newcastle, passing down Northumberland Street and in front of Monument.
Events will then move to Exhibition Park where you’ll find the Community Village and Festival Arena.
What will be in the Community Arena?
The free-to-enter Community Arena will have a sports and active life zone and the LGBT Northern Social Group will return to support those attending Pride for the first time. There’ll also be a family and youth zone as well as a health and wellbeing area, which will operate across the whole weekend.
The Rainbow Village is where hundreds of organisations, businesses and individuals will set up stalls and stands, selling merchandise, products and providing information. Following the success of last year’s event, the Rainbow Village will be open throughout the whole weekend.
What is the Northern Pride festival?
The Festival Arena is the heart of the weekend, with acts performing on a number of stages throughout the weekend. Here, there’ll be dance floors and cabaret zones with some of the city’s best performers, bars and food stalls.
Those wishing to pay a visit to the festival will need to purchase tickets, however. They begin at £6 for each day or £10 for a weekend pass.
Other options include upgrading to a premium pass, which grants access to a VIP area with a marquee, private bar and garden area with seating. A first-release platinum weekend pass at the moment costs £25.76.
This year there is also the option to pay it forward, adding a small fee on top of any ticket price will enable Northern Pride to add an extra ticket to a pot. All of the tickets in the pot will be shared between Northern Pride’s charities and not-for-profit partners, who will distribute these to their service users.
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