Birmingham Pride, UK

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What is Birmingham Pride Carnival?

Pride Birmingham is a LGBTQ+ weekend-long festival held annually in theGay Village of Birmingham, England, during the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Birmingham Pride is the largest gay pride festival in the United Kingdom, attracting 75,000 people each year. It usually features a carnival parade through the city center, events musical and dancing, fairground rides and street stalls and entertainments.

Birmingham Pride begins with an incredible pride parade, which travels from the city center to the Gay Village on Hurst Street and hosts music acts, a dance scene with DJs, fairs, cabaret, comedy and food stalls. In addition, the event is also partnered with some 15 bars and gay clubs. The Pride features the largest capacity main stage arena where you can get more bars, food vendors and seating. In addition, which features the participation of DJs and musicians who are part of the movement or are supporters of the movement.

Although Birmingham Pride is a large-scale celebration, with performers and entertainment, it is a movement that promotes and celebrates the right to love, not only other people, but also ourselves, and to do so no matter what. No matter what your gender, sexuality, personal identity, color, religion or race, Pride Birmingham is about bringing the community together for an incredible celebration of pride where you are always welcome.

 

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When is the Birmingham Pride Carnival

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Birmingham Pride will run from approximately May 29 through May 30. The festival gates will open at 12 noon and will culminate at 11:00 pm.

 

 

History of the Birmingham Pride Carnivals

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The first Birmingham Gay Pride weekend took place from July 8-9 in 1972, a week after the first London Gay Pride Week. Although the celebration was somewhat rushed, the event featured dances, two days of celebration in Cannon Hill Park and a march down New Street from the Bull Ring culminating in a small rally on the steps of City Hall. The purpose of the parade or Pride was to let the city know that they were there, wanted to be recognized and were there to stay.

Two or three other similar events were organized by the Birmingham Gay Liberation Front. However, in the mid-1970s, the organization stopped presenting parades. In 1983 they resumed the events with “Five Days of Fun“, originally known as “Gay Brum”. Unlike thePride weekends of the 1970s and the first “Gay Days” originally held,Five Days of Fun was something different in that it was not a political statement, but a social event and a celebration. The daytime and evening events would be held in the city’s major bars and gay clubs.

 

Where is the Birmingham Pride Carnival

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Birmingham’s gay festival or carnival is held in the Gay Village, a name given to neighborhoods whose population is mostly part of the gay movement and the whole atmosphere revolves around a more open and ambient training. The Gay Village is located in Hurst Street, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.

 

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How is the Pride Birmingham Carnival celebrated?

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Pride is about being yourself, showing who you are and making yourself known in the freest way possible. People dress up in big outrageous costumes, full of colors and glitter. Other people wear casual clothes with some community badge, while others dress “Drag.” No matter how you come dressed, the important thing about the celebration is that you come to party, dance and have a good time.

Pride features several activities for the celebration of the festivities in which usually begin with a Carnival Parade that goes through the city center to the Gay Village on Hurts Street. There is also some musical performances, DJs, cabaret and the participation of gay clubs and bars..

The event also has main stage of larger capacity where the larger events and participation take place.

If you want to know more about tourism in this country, I recommend this guide:.

 

Tips for going to Birmingham Pride Carnivals

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Birmingham Pride is a large event, with annual visits of around 75,000 people, so we recommend planning your trip in advance, making a travel itinerary and booking your accommodation.

You can get in for free. However, please note that there is a ticket sale for the festival, where each ticket has event bracelets. The tickets have different prices and each one of them allows you to access certain services. We recommend you to purchase the tickets that best suits your needs through the official website.

In addition, you do not have to be part of the movement directly to be part of the festivities, everyone can enter regardless of their status. Also, the festival has a “zero tolerance” rule against homophobic or transphobic acts and can throw out of the event those who are part of this type of activities.

 

Events at Birmingham Pride Carnival

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The event has a large number of events running concurrently. Firstly we have the Carnival Parade, crossing the city all the way to the Gay Village, this is a typical Birmingham Pride event. In addition to this, there are a lot of events and areas where great performances are held by the different artists, DJs and bands. The event has the space of a large main arena for this type of event.

The Pride also has a dancing arena, a cabaret show, entertainment fair, a fair where you can get food, drinks and souvenirs and of course, there are bars, Lip-Sync competitions and clubs.

 

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Birmingham Pride Carnival Parades

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The parade is one of the main and first activities that take place in the Birmingham Pride. People take to the streets in a joyful and celebratory mood. Music is heard everywhere and event cheerleaders can be heard lending support.

 

 

The parade begins at Victoria Square and ends at the Gay Village on Hurst Street. During this parade, people take to the streets wearing large colorful costumes, clothing with community insignia, dressing in drag or simply in casual clothes, as the clothing is not important, what is more important is the atmosphere of celebration and tolerance on which the festivity is based. You can see in the streets some allegorical floats, but what makes the most presence is the multicolor flag that identifies the LGBTQ+ movement.

 

Parade route

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The parade starts at Victoria Square, continuing along Waterloo Street and then crossing over Bennett’s Hill. At the end of the street, it continues along New Street, up High Street and turns into Carrs Lane. After this, cross back towards St Martin’s Circus Queensway to the end of the street and finally reach Hurst Street.

 

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What to eat at the Birmingham Pride Carnival

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Pride features a food fair where you can sample different types of street food. There are also a large number of bars in the area of ambient type. One of the typical foods of the area are the Brummie bacon cakes, which are rolls filled with cheese, bacon, tomato sauce and Worcester sauce. You can also find Mild, a type of low-alcoholic beer typical of the area.

Some of the most popular places you have in the area are Grand Central Kitchen Birmingham, Ju Ju’s Café and Pushkar.

 

 

Travel Insurance

 

From Carnavalesdelmundo.org we recommend to hire a good insurance to visit this carnival and to know the rest of the country. For being our readers we offer a 5% discount on all IATI insurance. Read more information about all insurance offers here:

 

 

What to see and do inside the Birmingham Pride Carnival

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Within the carnival you have a plethora of activities that you can take part in. The first and one of the main ones is the parade that occupies some of the main streets of the city until it reaches the Pride venue. Within the carnival there are different stages with different themes that you can attend. These presentations range from large music performances or DJs in the main arena, such as dance competitions or Lip-Sync, stand up comedy and other shows throughout the precinct.

You can also visit the clubs and local bars with an ambient theme to sample some of the most regularly consumed drinks and of course, attend the food fair.

If you don’t want to complicate things, here you can book interesting excursions in Spanish in this city:.

 

What to see and do outside of the Birmingham Pride Carnival

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Some of the city’s attractions include:

National Exhibition Centre

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It is one of the largest exhibition centers in the country and Europe. The venue hosts some concerts with a capacity of 11,000 people. However, it also has a multi-purpose halls and arenas. It was inaugurated in the 80s.

 

St. Martin in the Bull Ring

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The church was built in 1263, it has undergone several modifications and adaptations since its construction. Today it is one of the most important monuments in the country.

 

Museum of the Jewellery Quarter

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It is a museum named best free tourist attraction in Europe in 2008. The museum opened in 1992 exhibiting collections from the jewelry workshop, including jewelry and historical records.

Also if you want to visit museums and important buildings in this city we recommend that you book your ticket in advance through Tiquets:.

 

Birmingham Pride Carnival Safety

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The city of Birmingham is a relatively safe city, however, it does have a somewhat present crime rate.

We recommend you to be aware of your surroundings, keep your belongings in a safe place and contact the authorities if you recognize any suspicious activity. Also, we recommend the following products to keep your items safe:

 

 

Weather at Birmingham Pride Carnival

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The weather is somewhat cool during Pride, with the temperature hovering between 7 and 16 degrees Celsius.

 

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How to get to Birmingham Pride Carnivals

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How to get there by plane

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The nearest airport is Birmingham Airport which is located locally and receives a large number of flights from all over the world. From here, you can transport yourself by various means to get to the Pride celebrations.

We recommend buying airline tickets through Kiwi.com or Skyscanner where they are usually cheaper. More information on this link to review Kiwi.com..

 

How to get there by train

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From the airport take the train to Birmingham New Street, walk 6 minutes until you reach Hurst Street.

 

How to get there by bus

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From the airport take the bus on the National Express, 777, 707, 707, 819 or 202 to Birmingham station. From there, walk about 10 minutes to the street where the celebration is being held.

 

How to get there by car

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From the airport take the M6 road until you reach Hurst Street.

 

Where to stay at Birmingham Pride Carnival

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Booking.com

 

Edgbaston Park Hotel

4 star hotel 4 km from the city center. Facilities offer free internet, bar and restaurant.

 

AC Hotel by Marriott Birmingham

4-star hotel 1.2 km from downtown. Rooms have television and private bath. Facilities offer gym, bar, free wifi and parking.

 

Clayton Hotel Birmingham

4-star hotel 200 m from the center. Rooms have flat-screen TV, private bath with hairdryer and safe. Facilities offer bar, gym and free wifi.

We recommend you use Booking.com to book hotels at a good price, check more information here:.

 

Thank you for reading

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