Bury St Edmunds’ first LGBTQ+ pride festival hailed success at Constitutional Club in Guildhall Street
A Suffolk town’s first pride festival has been hailed an ‘amazing success’ after hundreds of people enjoyed the festivities.
The event was held on Saturday at the Constitutional Club in Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds, to offer a safe space for members and supporters of the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate their individuality.
More than 200 people attended the all-day event to watch performances from drag artists, a fire breather, a stilt walker, live music, DJ sets as well as stalls selling LGBTQ+ material and promotional information on health and inclusion.
Organiser Emma Warren said: “It was just so great – to think it all started as just an idea which went viral on Facebook is unbelievable.
“It’s just a shame we actually had to turn people away as we were at capacity – and I think that proves just how needed something like this is in Bury.
“It was an amazing success and we will absolutely be hosting another event next year with plans to make it even bigger and better.”
The event featured child-friendly activities from 2pm to 6pm, followed by entertainment for those aged 18 and over until midnight and the festival even received a shout-out on BBC Radio 2 from Zoe Ball.
The Iceni rugby club based in Wymondham were also at the event to promote their fully inclusive team while a makeup artist offered visitors rainbow face paint and glitter to get them in the spirit of the event.
However, not everyone shared this spirit, as a small group of protesters in Guildhall Street were moved on by Suffolk Police during the event.
The festival was organised by a group of volunteers and a new Facebook group called Bury St Edmunds LGBT+ Community has been launched for people to stay up to date and to get involved with future events.
Emma said: “It’s just really good that it has taken off and it just goes to show the change in attitude from the town.
“Bury has always been seen as quite a conservative town – but there were people of all ages and different backgrounds at the festival enjoying themselves which is wonderful to see.
“We just wanted to offer a fun, brave and safe space for the community to gather and it’s lovely to know that we achieved that.”