Pride goes pan-Island

Tuesday 23 February 2016

The Channel Islands are being brought together in Pride this year with a week of celebrations in September kicking off in Guernsey with a big finale in Jersey.

Equality charity Liberate plan to use comedy, music, films and talks to engage everyone and work with local businesses and schools to tackle LGBTQ bullying and discrimination.

The week will start in Guernsey on Saturday 10 September with a parade through the centre of town, followed by a celebratory party in Market Square and will end on Saturday 17 September in Jersey with a public parade, an afternoon of music and entertainment and an evening of club events.

Vice Chair of Liberate in Guernsey, Ellie Jones said: “Pride is a fantastic opportunity to bring the people of the Channel Islands together in a spirit of equality and diversity.

“This is an especially important event for the members of the LGBTQ community in Guernsey, as it will be our first ever Pride and a way to publicly celebrate the recent decision of the States to pursue equal marriage legislation. It is also a great way of saying to the worldwide LGBTQ community that they will be warmly welcomed in the Channel Islands.”

Last year’s parade in Jersey saw around 3,000 people out celebrating equal rights for all sexualities.

Christian May, Chairman of Pride and Liberate in Jersey said: “Pride is organised by the LGBTQ community but we want it to be open to all residents of both Islands.

“We hope that we can set the bar for real cooperation between Guernsey and Jersey; and create a festival atmosphere that will be enjoyed and remembered throughout the year.

“We will be encouraging Jersey members of the LGBTQ community to travel and spend Saturday 10 September in Guernsey for their celebrations and vice versa for our festivities.”

If you want to sponsor, exhibit or perform in this year’s Pride Parades you can get in touch with the organisers by emailing hello@liberate.gg  in Guernsey and hello@liberate.je in Jersey.

A dedicated Pride website is being launched in the coming weeks.