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No place for hate at Pride: Cardiff and Manchester both enjoy glorious, unified Pride events after anti-trans protesters booted out

Two major Pride events across the UK this weekend – Manchester and Pride Cymru, Cardiff – both faced small opposition, but LGBTQ+ solidarity prevailed.

 

Manchester Pride’s four-day event got off to a flying start Friday (August 27), where the sunshine was out in the city’s gay village, and so were revellers.

 

Despite the four-day weekend being a great success so far, Friday had one minor disruption following a visit from a lone LGB Alliance subscriber and self-proclaimed TERF, who decided to show up and try to cause conflict (for the second year running).

Thankfully (for the second year running), this person was promptly given the boot.

 

 

Hardware store Wickes – who faced transphobic backlash earlier this month for sporting inclusive LGBTQ+ messaging in its Pride posters – proved that some corporations aren’t just all talk and no action: defiantly using the same signs again for Manchester’s Pride.

 

 

 

Elsewhere, just two days into Manchester Pride and so far the celebrations seem like a pretty glorious occasion for all in attendance (more images at the bottom of article).

 

 

 

Pride Cymru also sent a defiant message to haters as the festivities got underway in Cardiff, with only a minor interruption.

 

Thousands of people gathered today (August 27) to celebrate Wales’ largest celebration of equality and diversity at Pride Cymru, the first year back for the annual event since the coronavirus outbreak.

 

The festivities were only momentarily marred for some, when a small number of people arrived to try and disrupt proceedings.

 

As is always the case with these ‘groups’, most of the noise went down on social media, with the incident seeming to effect very few people or anyone’s overall mood at the actual event.

 

Equally, as is always the case with these ‘groups’, they show up to attack an event or a group of people before ultimately using social media to scream about how THEY are the victims afterwards.

Make it make sense…

A statement shared to Pride Cymru’s Twitter feed said:

“Today’s Pride Cymru parade was all about celebration and LGBTQ+ rights”, the message signed by the organisation’s Chair, Gian Molinu, read.

 

“Despite a small group of people interrupting the march, they were drowned out by shouts of solidarity from the community and spectators. There is no place for hate at Pride. And as our parade said today loudly and clearly ‘trans rights are human rights’.”

The note finished with the hashtag, “#UniqueandUnited”

 

#PrideCymru trended on Twitter after the small group showed up spouting the usual discriminatory rhetoric, seemingly organised by a fraction who use the slogan “Lesbian Not Queer”, and who want to “get the L out” of LGBTQ+.

Eye roll.

 

 

Many on social media pointed out that there were hundreds of lesbians in attendance, along with bisexual people, trans and gender-diverse folk, gays and other fractions of the LGBTQ+ community, along with allies – all enjoying a perfectly lovely time. 

 

Many were also quick to point out the hilarious but clearly insane irony of a group of people shouting “get the L out”, when they showed up, uninvited, to an event clearly labelled for the whole LGBTQ+ community , which they had literally inserted themselves into.

Many were quick to say things along the lines of, “fuck off then” “okay, well, leave”:

The Twitter account used by the group behind the disruption (we’re not printing their name) was subsequently suspended from the platform “for 6 days without possibility of appeal or getting our account back (we tried!)”. Oh well. 

 

South Wales Police issued a statement following the incident, saying:

“South Wales Police worked closely with the local authority and Pride Cymru to facilitate a march through Cardiff City Centre on Saturday August 27. During the event, officers were required to engage with a small protest group who had assembled themselves on the route to block the procession.”

“To ensure no further disruption to the event, officers asked the group to move to an alternative location nearby which they agreed to do. Officers explained why they needed to move, provided guidance about protesting lawfully and offered to facilitate a lawful protest”, the statement continued.

 

 

Despite the failed attempt to disrupt proceedings, the event went ahead a total success, with Dan Walsh, Trustee and director of Pride Cymru, telling ITV:

“We’re back with a bang, it’s been three long years since we’ve had a Pride Cymru festival. We’re expecting 50,000 people to engage with the parade or be here on site over the course of this weekend”, he said.

 

“The community is back together for the first time, people found it really really difficult from our community during the pandemic, lots of members of the LGBT community can be quite socially isolated, maybe don’t have the right family connections to get through that alone, so it’s great for everyone to come back and celebrate how much we’ve achieved but also think about what we’ve got to go.”

 

 

While First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, shared a message on social media lending support to Pride Cymru.

In a video, he said: “It’s fantastic to be back here at a Pride march in Cardiff for the first time in three years.

“The importance of the event is to both mark the enormous progress there has been in Wales over recent years but to look ahead as well to struggles still to come. No ground for any progressive movement was ever gained without a struggle and while today is a celebration it also marks the sacrifice and the contributions of those who have gone before and sets us on the path to an even more successful future.”

 

More images of Pride Cymru and Manchester Pride below:

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