As corporate sponsorship of Pride dwindles in an increasingly conservative political landscape, here’s how you can support UK Black Pride as it celebrates its milestone 20th year.
Co-founded by Lady Phyll, UK Black Pride came to fruition in 2005. Initially created as a safe space for Black queer women with a simple mission of “strength through unity,” it has since grown into Europe’s largest celebration of LGBTQIA+ individuals from African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American, and Middle Eastern backgrounds.
Held each year at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, UK Black Pride regularly draws a crowd of 20,000–25,000 people. The day-long festival features live performances from Black LGBTQIA+ entertainers, DJ sets, workshops, talks and community stalls.
As Timi Sotire wrote in a 2023 feature for Gay Times, UK Black Pride is “one of the few large-scale, central community spaces where multiple generations of queer people of colour come together, celebrate identities, and resist the oppressive forces sought to divide.”
The theme for UK Black Pride’s 20th anniversary is “Becoming,” described as “a love letter to our constant transformation as Black LGBTQIA+ people and LGBTQIA+ people of colour.” In a statement, the organisers said: “We shapeshift. We resist. We thrive. We’re never static, never silent and never alone.”
Taking place on 20 August, once again at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, UK Black Pride 2025 promises to be the “BIGGEST, BLACKEST, and most BEAUTIFUL celebration yet” with performances from the likes of Cynthia DJ MVP, N’nerjie, Big John The DJ, Kaylee Golding, Love Itoya, Project Reese, Nqobilé, Shanay Maliya, Issac, Cleopatra and more.
Sadly, as over 60% of corporate sponsors — including Bud Light UK, Vodafone, NatWest, Barclays, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s — have withdrawn or reduced their support for Pride events, UK Black Pride has announced that it too has been impacted.
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“As sponsorships drop and costs rise, it gets harder to keep this space free and accessible,” the organisation wrote in an Instagram post on 1 July. “We’re working hard to keep UK Black Pride free, and with your support, we can continue doing so.”
As one of the few free Pride events, UKBP also shared that organising the annual celebration costs “over £450,000,” covering staging, security, toilets, accessibility measures, welfare tents, artists, crew and more. “With fewer sponsors and rising expenses, we need your support to keep it free for everyone,” they added.
To help UK Black Pride, the organisation has kindly requested attendees to purchase a “symbolic” £25 ticket as a donation.
On their website — which also offers the option to donate custom amounts — they detail that contributions go directly towards: safe and accessible venues; mental health and wellness support; programming that centres QTBIPOC voices; performers, artists, and speakers; security and accessibility services; and volunteer coordination and community outreach.
As they wrote on Instagram, “Your contribution ensures those who can’t afford to attend still can.”
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