Celebrating Pride

As you may be aware, Wolverhampton Pride is back on Saturday 10 June and is bigger and better than ever with headline artists such as LGBT icon DJ Scott Mills, RuPaul's Drag Race royalty Baga Chipz and the winners of the 1981 Eurovision Song Content The Fizz.  There will also be a parade through the city, bars, food, face painting, community stalls, fairground rides and much more.

Wolverhampton Pride, at its heart, is a celebration of Wolverhampton’s LGBT+ community and is an event that is open for everyone to come together to celebrate, to learn about and to support LGBT+ inclusion within Wolverhampton and the council has worked closely with local organisations to ensure that Wolverhampton Pride is a community event and one that showcases and celebrates the City.   

Aisha James, Staff LGBTQ+ Committee Co-Chair, said: “Pride is a celebration of love and diversity. It is a way to honour those who came before us, those who fought for our rights, and those who had to hide who they were for fear of persecution. It simultaneously serves as a reminder that the fight is not over. People within our community, specifically our Trans and gender non-conforming siblings, still face significant difficulties with relation to prejudice and negative rhetoric perpetuated through social media and society.

"Education, I believe, is the key to developing inclusivity as standard. Through my work at the University of Wolverhampton, I strive to promote diversity and normalise open conversations around LGBTQIA+ topics through sessions with students, and our D.I.I.verse Hub podcast. I have found that most negative stereotypes or beliefs stem from a lack of understanding or lived experience. If someone has no queer friends, relatives, or people in their lives, they may struggle to attach personal meaning to things they say and may speak without depth of thought surrounding the impact of their words or actions. We must keep striving each year, each month, each day, to create a kinder, more accepting society. We must teach our young people that love can never be wrong and that individual differences are what make life so interesting. After all, if everybody was the same, how boring would the world be?

"Pride is a protest. Pride is being part of something bigger than ourselves. Pride is a reminder we are not alone”

Find out more about the Wolves Pride event on the City of Wolverhampton Council website.

The University will also be attending Birmingham Pride as part of UNIfied which takes place on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 May 2023.