UK Black Pride Festival set for Southend next weekend

By Tony Grew • August 11, 2006 - 0:00

Organisers hope the festival will become an annual summer event. It aims to foster pride, empowerment and a positive presence for black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the UK

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The first UK Black Pride (UKBP) festival will be held on Saturday 19th August at the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea.

Organisers hope the festival will become an annual summer event. It aims to foster pride, empowerment and a positive presence for black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the UK and is billed as an inclusive celebration regardless of colour.

In what is set to be an entertaining and informative day by the seaside, the UKBP festival will include music and dancers, beach volleyball, steel pan bands, drag performances from Dame Divina Washington and a Mr Miss Beach Competition.

Ninia Benjamin, star of BBC3's comedy hit Three Non-Blondes, is the headline act.

Food stalls will be selling African, Caribbean, and English food. There will also be Halal, Kosher and vegetarian options.

Coaches will be leaving Vauxhall at 10am to take revellers to East Beach, Southend.

The event is ticket-only, and the £20 charge includes a coach from Vauxhall and admission to the after-festival party.

A UKBP spokesman said: "When we think gay or lesbian we tend to think of gay and lesbian people as a whole and not the diverse cultures within it.

"But, since gay and lesbian people come from a variety of backgrounds and ethnic groups, being gay or lesbian is like being a part of a culture within a culture."

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