Sunderland's Pride festival organisers aim for bigger and better event in 2024

This year's Pride events will be even bigger and better, taking place over a whole month.

Sunderland Pride has been running for over a decade as a way to support and celebrate the city's LGBTQ community.

This year, it's been taken over by Out North East, which has renamed the annual event Pride in Sunderland, with a whole month of celebrations and events taking place from June 1 - 30, 2024.

There will be 12 free events in total across the city at venues such as Arts Centre Washington, Mecca Bingo and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, ranging from talks and workshops and a family picnic to a Pride in the City concert with four stages across the city centre and Pride in Sunderland march.

Peter Darrant, chair of Out North East, said: "Not everybody wants to take part in a march, so we decided to have 12 events that anybody can go to across the month. It's fitting that we're doing this in the 55th year of Stonewall."

It was in June 1969 that the LGBTQ community in New York held a riot in response to a violent police raid at the Stonewall Inn. The watershed event became a cornerstone of the gay liberation movement and the fight for LGBT rights.

"This year, Pride in Sunderland will be even bigger, building on previous years to engage as many people as possible," added Peter, who's been involved in the city's Pride event for the past 10 years through Pride Radio.

"Pride can mean different things to different people: it can be political, it can be about being able to hold your partner's hand in public without judgement, it can be about pride in the city you live. Pride isn't just about one event, it's about creating a legacy and bringing communities together.

"We want to celebrate what a fantastic and diverse community we have here. There are still challenges, but we can hopefully help give people civic pride and pride in themselves."

As part of the Pride in Sunderland workshops, photos, stories and more will be collected with the aim of creating an exhibition to be staged in 2025.

More details will be announced for Pride in Sunderland in the coming months.