March With Pride And Help Spread The Message Of International Love

The annual Pride March is expected to be one of the highlights of this year's Liverpool Pride Festival, the region's annual LGBT+ festival in association with headline sponsor Barclays. And organisers are inviting you to get involved in making the 2017 march the biggest, most animated and best march yet.

Liverpool Pride Festival will again take place across two days - Saturday 29 July and Sunday 30 July 2017 and is completely free to attend.

Individuals and groups are being urged to sign up for the Saturday 29 July March in advance, and add their voices to the call for love and tolerance across the globe.

Last year around 5,000 people took part in the March, and it is expected that number will be topped in 2017.

The theme of this year's Pride is International Love, complementing the city's wider 50 Summers of Love festival, which celebrates 50 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality. And marchers are being encouraged to go the extra mile to with their costumes, banners and flags, and help organisers create a "beautiful rainbow parade".

They are also being urged to consider coming in another nation's national dress, from Alaskan fishing communities to the Zuni tribespeople of New Mexico, 'traditional dress' often represents a communal history or a collective identity".

Alongside the flags and banners created in Liverpool, people will also be able to carry one of more than 72 flags of nations in which it is still illegal to be a homosexual. The flags are being loaned to Liverpool Pride by Pride in London, marking their solidarity with the March and demonstrating cooperation at national level.

Liverpool Pride's Lucy Day said: "We want to see banners, flags, puppets and lanterns that represents what International Love means to you and or your group. It might depict a Bollywood love story, your depiction of intersectionality, or a statement you want to make about LGBT+ tolerance today.

"Our plan is to acknowledge and reflect on the 70 nations who have not yet legalised homosexuality and do not recognise their LGBT+ communities.

"We march for those living in countries forced to live in fear and shame, irrespective of their laws. We raise their flags in support of change and rainbows for those who aim to help them. We stand firm - and with one another - to show we are unbowed, undeterred and positively celebratory about LGBT+ liberation."

To register visit the Liverpool Pride website and complete the form www.liverpoolpride.co.uk/march-registration.

The March muster will begin at St George's Hall from 10.30am on Saturday 29th July with speeches and entertainment to launch the festival day. The March will then begin at noon making its way from the plateau on to Lime Street, through Queen Square bus station and along Whitechapel before turning right on to Church Street and making its way towards Derby Square.

From there it will turn right in to Castle Street, Dale Street and North John Street, and then left along Victoria Street and in to Stanley Street before turning right along Dale Street and over the Churchill Way Flyover, returning to St George's Plateau.

We advise all taking part to arrive early on the day as additional security checks and measures, such as bag searching will take place which may slow down the process.

Liverpool Pride is marking its eighth consecutive year, in which time it has become the region's established annual celebration of all things LGBT.

It has grown to become one of the city's major annual events, attracting more than 32,000 festivalgoers in 2016 to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

This year's official Headline Sponsor of Liverpool Pride Festival is Barclays, who are embarking upon a 12-month community partnership which will provide access to employment, financial services, and, access to training for digital and financial awareness supported by the many Barclays colleagues across its branch network and contact centres in Kirkby and Wavertree Technology Park.

Manchester Airport is also a main sponsor, Radio City is the official Media Partner, while Signature Living have just been announced as the official Hotel Partner.

Keep up to date with Liverpool Pride's new announcements at:

Website: www.liverpoolpride.co.uk

Facebook: LiverpoolPride

Twitter: @LiverpoolPride