Pride Schools Week takes place between Monday 22nd and Friday 26^th June this year.

Always the last week of June, it remains an important part of our Norwich Pride calendar. Young people are a key part of our event and we are always proud to see the joy and confidence with which they take part.

Over the past decade, LGBTQIA+ inclusive education has moved forward in huge strides and it’s been magnificent to see so many local schools taking part – the number increasing year on year and the range of activities becoming prouder, bolder and more colourful. Young people, organising in pride clubs have increasingly led the way alongside their out LGBTQIA+ teachers and allies.

Here are some things that all schools can do:

• Hold your own Pride Week in school
• Do assemblies and form-time activities
• Invite LGBTQ+ Project in to run a stall
• Hold a rainbow bake sale
• Advertise your Pride Club, or set one up if need be
• Have a LGBTQIA+ themed book club or film in your library
• Spotlight queer people in the curriculum
• Tell everyone about Norwich Pride in July

There are some fantastic resources online from organisations like Stonewall, LGBTQ+ Project and The Proud Trust to name but a few.

Norwich Pride will always protect our brand, and our reputation.

Businesses, organisations, groups, or individuals may not use Norwich Pride logos or claim to be an official Norwich Pride partner, or state they are holding an ‘official’ event without written permission from Norwich Pride.

We are always very grateful when people offer to fundraise for us.

If you plan to raise money for Norwich Pride please read the guidance on the fundraising page.

Norwich Pride Logos Terms and Conditions

• Norwich Pride accepts no responsibility or liability for events or activities organised by a third party, where the Norwich Pride, Fundraising logo is used.
• Logos must only be used in the exact form shown and not altered, manipulated, or amended in any way, ensuring that their integrity, colour schemes, and design elements remain intact to maintain brand consistency.
• Unauthorised use of the logos is strictly forbidden
• Norwich Pride owns all rights to the logos.

Stretching back hundreds of years, Norfolk’s LGBTQIA+ history is being brought to light online thanks to an innovative new project. Called ‘Queer Norfolk’, the volunteer-led project aims to seek, record and showcase undiscovered objects stored away in museums and archives that tell the story of Norfolk’s LGBTQIA+ past.

Community Archivist Adam Baker says: “These objects and stories are not necessarily hidden, but they are hard to find. This project aims to draw together information from all over Norfolk to reveal LGBTQIA+ the landscapes of the past in our county.”

The project supported by the Norwich Pride. Trustee Julie Bremner said ‘ Norwich Pride is enthusiastically supporting this project. The digitisation of queer history will help demonstrate how far we have made progress towards LGBTQIA+ equality, and how much more we need to do. We urge people to look through their own historical objects and consider whether they would be a good addition to the collection.’

Rachel Ridealgh, Community Librarian for Local Studies at Norfolk Library & Information Service, said: “The Norfolk LGBTQIA+ Collection at the Norfolk Heritage Centre has been developed over several years by the community. We are proud to support this new project, which will give more people the chance to discover this unique collection.”

The project hopes to give LGBTQIA+ people the opportunity to take ownership of their past while also encouraging links between the LGBT+ community and Norfolk’s archives, museums and stately homes.

Queer Norfolk is a grassroots volunteer-led project, in partnership with Norwich Pride and supported by Norfolk Library & Information Service. If you are interested in contributing to the project, please get in touch via the details below:

Head to queernorfolk.com or follow @queernorfolk on Instagram to find out more.

https://queernorfolk.com/

Norwich Pride Announces First Bus East of England as Official Entertainment Sponsor for 2025

Norwich Pride is delighted to announce that First Bus East of England will once again be supporting the event, returning as an official sponsor for the third consecutive year. This year, First Bus takes on the exciting role of Entertainment Sponsor, reinforcing its commitment to inclusivity and celebrating diversity in the communities it serves.

As part of the sponsorship, First Bus’s iconic, brightly coloured Pride bus will take centre stage at the event on Saturday, 26 July 2025, transforming into the Gilbert Baker Stage—named after the creator of the Pride flag. The stage will showcase a fantastic lineup of vibrant performances throughout the day, creating an unforgettable celebration of love, identity, and equality. The Pride bus will be situated on Theatre Street, which is part of the parade route ensuring that First Bus is right at the heart of the festivities.

“We’re thrilled to have First Bus back as a sponsor for Norwich Pride 2025, and especially excited to see their Pride bus transformed into the Gilbert Baker Stage. Their continued support allows us to put on a fantastic event that truly celebrates our local LGBTQIA+ community. With First Bus providing a platform for incredible performances, this year’s Pride is set to be more vibrant than ever!”

Robert, Chair of Norwich Pride

“We are incredibly proud to support Norwich Pride for the third year running. At First Bus, we believe that public transport should be welcoming and inclusive for everyone, and our involvement in Pride reflects our commitment to fostering a diverse and supportive environment—both for our colleagues and our customers. Seeing our Pride bus at the heart of the celebrations is a fantastic way to showcase that everyone is welcome on board with First Bus.”

Piers Marlow, Managing Director of First Bus East of England

Norwich Pride is committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive, and vibrant event that brings the community together to celebrate LGBTQ+ identity and equality. With the support of partners like First Bus, Pride continues to grow, ensuring that Norwich remains a beacon of acceptance and diversity.

On Saturday 23rd April 2023, we called on the people of Norwich to protest against the Government’s plans to exclude Trans people from the bill to ban Conversion Therapy. We met outside City Hall. Thanks to Hannah Dingle for the fabulous photos above.

Listen to Amy Nomvula’s fabulous report on the Protest for BBC Radio Norfolk

Letter to MPs

We have written to Chloe Smith MP (Conservative, Norwich North) and Clive Lewis MP (Labour, Norwich South) to express our outrage at the Government’s plans to exclude Trans people from the Ban Conversion Therapy legislation. We encourage you all to do the same. It’s important for MPs to hear our voices. This is what we wrote:

Dear Chloe Smith/Clive Lewis

We are writing to ask for your support for a comprehensive ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’ in England and Wales for all LGBTQIA+ people without further delay.

The UK Government committed to banning conversion practices in 2018, and released its proposals in October 2021. It was a central part of two Conservative Party election manifestos. However, two weeks ago, the Government appeared to abandon this commitment, leaving victims and potential victims at risk of abuse and lifelong harm.

In response to widespread criticism, which united the overwhelming majority of the LGBTQIA+ community, the Government made a partial U-turn, declaring that they would still ban conversion therapy for LGB people. However, trans and non-binary people would still be subject to this cruel and degrading practice.

The UK Government’s National LGBTQIA+ Survey 2018 found that trans people are twice as likely to have been offered or undergone conversion therapy (13 per cent, compared to 7 per cent of LGBT people). Last week, Galop published research that shows 11% of trans people have experienced conversion therapy at the hands of their own family members.  A ban that does not protect trans people is no ban at all.

Conversion practices are abuse. They cause severe and long-lasting physical and psychological suffering, violate the human rights of LGBTQIA+ people, and were found by the UN to ‘amount to torture’ in some cases. The UN Independent Expert report on conversion practices found that individuals subjected to this abuse experienced “significant loss of self-esteem, anxiety, depressive syndrome, social isolation, intimacy difficulty, self-hatred, shame and guilt, sexual dysfunction, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as often significant physical pain and suffering.”  Therefore, by committing to banning conversion therapy for LGB people, but not trans people, the Government suggests that it is fine to subject trans people to this abuse.

The WHO removed homosexuality from the international clarification of diseases in 1990; 22 years later and attempts to cure us are still legal. There is nothing wrong or broken about who we are. Our sexual orientations and gender identities should be celebrated.

We are asking you to do the following:

1. To write to the Prime Minister to express your support for a ban on conversion therapy that protects trans people? 
2. To make clear that you will argue for a ban that protects trans people throughout the legislative process? 
3. To send a message to all your constituents that you fully support a ban on conversion therapy for all LGBTQIA+ people and support the aims of Norwich Pride.

Norwich Pride would welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue with you further and look forward to hearing from you soon. Everyone at Norwich Pride strives for our fine city to be one where everyone feels safe to be themselves. This is not possible when members of our community are in danger of abuse. 

Andrew Copeman                 
Chair of Norwich Pride Trans Advisory Group    

Nick O’Brien
Chair of Trustees, Norwich Pride