Thousands attend Croydon PrideFest 2017

Thousands of people came together to celebrate the LGBT+ community at Croydon PrideFest on Saturday.

The event kicked off with the Pride Walking Parade which travelled from North End, through central Croydon to the main festival area in the Queen’s Gardens.

Crowds were kept entertained by a full programme of performances by musicians, DJs and cabaret performers. As well as a variety of acts for all to enjoy, there were also vintage and craft stalls, street food and drinks on offer, as well as children’s entertainment.

Dozens of local community organisations took part in the parade, including Croydon Area Gay Society (CAGS), TransPALS and the Croydon LGBT+ Network. They were joined by hundreds of individuals and smaller groups on the day who all marked 50 years of progress to equality, in recognition of the law that decriminalised homosexuality, which was first introduced in 1967.

Croydon PrideFest was supported by Croydon Council and was sponsored by A-Plant, Croydon Partnership, BRAC contracts, Project Centre, Chequers contracts.

Councillor Mark Watson, cabinet member for economy and jobs

“I’d like to thank everyone who worked on organising Croydon PrideFest. It was a fantastic, well attended event, which was the result of a fantastic team effort and showed how diverse and welcoming Croydon is.

“Every part of PrideFest from the parade, to the performers, to the food and drink on offer throughout the day was brilliant. A huge well done and thank you to the organisers and the event sponsors.”

Paula Goodwin, chair of the Croydon Pride steering group, added: “Thank you to everyone who was involved in the organising and attended PrideFest, with special thanks to the police and council.

“I am delighted so many people came and joined us for Croydon’s second PrideFest and that the event was such a success, I’m already looking forward to next year’s celebration.”

Croydon PrideFest 2018 will take place on Saturday 14 July. For more photos from this year’s event click here.

2021-11-15T15:35:14+00:00 July 17th, 2017|Recent news|