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  • Greater anglia
  • Norwich university of the arts logo
  • Uk Pride logo
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  • Consortium logo
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Proud to be members of

  • Uk Pride logo
  • EPOA logo
  • Consortium logo
  • Interpride logo

Turning Norwich into a rainbow for 18 years

Picture of a person holding the pride flag in the pride march

Growing Norwich Pride from 2009

Norwich Pride is a celebration of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual+ (LGBTQIA+) community for everyone.
Our mission is to live in a city where everyone can feel safe and proud to be themselves.

 

Growing Norwich Pride from 2009

Our job is to organise an amazing pride march and associated events on the last Saturday in July.

Our key events are free, inclusive, and accessible. We work positively and creatively to challenge prejudice and discrimination towards our community.
The first Norwich Pride took place in 2009 and has grown and grown each year. In 2020, Norwich Pride became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered in England and Wales, charity number 1184491.

Our core values

We base all our decisions on our Core Values. Everyone who joins Norwich Pride has to agree to uphold them. These values help guide us, particularly during tough times or when making difficult decisions.

Free, inclusive, accessible

Promotes equality and celebrates diversity

Inspires creativity

Builds confidence

Listens to the community and helps to develop it

Educates and raises awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues

Overcomes intolerance and prejudice of any kind

Changes negative attitudes

Ethical and sustainable

Promotes local talent and businesses

Involves people and organisations running their own events

Encourages enthusiastic volunteers from the community

Treats people with respect at all times and avoids abusive or discriminatory language

The structure
of Norwich Pride

There are four layers of involvement for volunteers at Norwich Pride that reflect the time, experience and skills that people have to offer.

Image of a drag queen on Norwich Pride March

Trustees

The Trustees are people who have got considerable experience of organising Norwich Pride or have got specific skills that are important to the smooth running of the organisation.

Person walking in the Norwich Pride March

Organising team

These are people who have significant experience of volunteering for Norwich Pride and have got overall responsibility for organising the celebrations each year.

People celebrating in the Norwich Pride March

Delivery team

These are people with specific tasks – e.g. maintaining the website, managing the Pride Shop, and looking after our social media accounts. Some of these roles may have all-year-round tasks.

Image overlooking the Norwich Pride march

Pride makers

These are people who work on the day and in the immediate lead-up to the Norwich Pride celebrations.

Person in a wheelchair participating in the Norwich Pride March

Norwich Pride is for everyone

Here are some of the measures we undertake to keep Norwich Pride accessible –

  • Disability awareness training for all our stewards and Pride Makers
  • BSL interpreters sign the speeches on City Hall balcony, at the Natasha Curson Memorial Trans talk, and question time, and the main stage entertainment
  • Designated safe space near the front of the march for disabled people and wheelchair users
  • Designated quiet section at the back of the march for people wanting a quieter march
  • A short cut in the march to avoid the cobbles on Bedford Street
  • Designated viewing space in front of the main stage for wheelchair users, and for people to get a clear view of the BSL interpreters. This is called ‘Dean’s Den’, named after Dean Simons, our first Access Champion
  • Quiet Spaces on the second floor of the Millennium Library in the Forum, as well as Norfolk and Waveney Mind’s THE REST at Churchman House
  • Accessible toilets in Chapelfield Gardens

Norwich Pride is for everyone

We have an Access Group on Facebook who we consult with to ensure we are as accessible as possible. Click here to join: Norwich Pride Access Group on Facebook. Our Access Champion is Francis Chennell.

We are always keen to hear your ideas about how to make Norwich Pride as accessible as possible. There is always more we can do. Please email info@norwichpride.org.uk if you have any suggestions, questions or feedback.

Ethical sponsorship

Keeping Norwich Pride free for our community is a cherished core value, which means we have to raise money from sponsorship to deliver the event. We will never sell tickets and put a paywall between our community and Norwich Pride. We work hard to ensure the businesses, organisations, and groups who sponsor Norwich Pride are aligned with our Core Values and are not engaging in pinkwashing.

We require all sponsors, big or small to sign, and agree to uphold the Pride Pledge before engaging with us –
As an Official Supporter of Norwich Pride, we pledge our business, organisation or group will be a safe, welcoming, and friendly place for LGBTQIA+ customers and staff.
We will visibly support and promote equality for LGBTQIA+ people, challenge homophobic and transphobic behaviour, and have clear reporting mechanisms for harassment and discrimination.
We will ensure our staff are trained to understand the experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and how to be a proactive ally.  

We have signed The Fossil Free Pride Pledge
As a climate-conscious organisation, Norwich Pride will not accept sponsorship from or partnership with companies that bear disproportionate responsibility for the climate crisis.
This applies to:
1) Fossil fuel companies: at minimum the companies listed in the Carbon Underground 200 largest extractors of fossil fuels.
2) Fossil fuel-financing banks: at minimum the 60 banks listed in the latest Banking on Climate Chaos report.
Our exclusions also relate to otherwise branded entities owned by the parent companies above.

Norwich Pride supports the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity. Norwich Pride will not knowingly accept sponsorship from any business or organisation the BDS movement calls to be boycotted.

1. Norwich Pride is committed to promoting equality and diversity for the public benefit across the city of Norwich and the county of Norfolk; in particular, the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. By organising an annual Pride march and festival on the last Saturday of July, we hope to advocate for the end of sexual and gender-based discrimination and to celebrate the local LGBTQIA+ community.
2. We would only be able to work towards this aim with the financial support that we receive from a wide range of funders and supporters. We need to ensure we abide by our charity objectives, and any application of this policy aligns with those objectives.
3. We always aim to be open, honest and fair and to operate in a way that meets the law, fundraising regulations and best practices, and to abide by our Procurement Policy and Ethical Sponsorship Policy which outline the standards expected of all donors contributing to the work of Norwich Pride.
4. We actively seek opportunities to work with external organisations to achieve shared objectives. However, it is vital that we maintain our independence and do not allow external partnerships or acceptance of funds to impact our ability to deliver our charitable objectives.
5. We will aim to keep an updated list of our sponsors and supporters as part of our reporting process on our website to ensure open and transparent communication with the general public.