Cambridge Pride 2024 in pictures as thousands attend celebration

The fourth Cambridge Pride event took place on Saturday (15 June) on Jesus Green and proved to be full of colour and entertainment – but the organisers have warned it could be the last of its kind.

For the first time this year, the LGBTQ+ event featured a parade, which started on Jesus Green and took in the city centre’s streets before heading back.

There was a main music stage and a dance tent on site, as well as a ‘Calm Corner’, a Pride Champion Tent and Shop, an art workshop, a community hive and plenty of food and drink. Also, thanks to Glitterbeam, areas of the event were streamed online.

Cambridge Pride is produced by a team of volunteers, led by the Cambridge-based charity The Pink Festival Group.

Headline sponsor this year was Anglia Ruskin University and other sponsors included Samsung, AstraZeneca, the University of Cambridge, Marshall, Redgate, Carter Jonas and Cambridgeshire County Council.

Paul Hyde-Clarke, chair of The Pink Festival Group, said the event went “brilliantly” in spite of some wet conditions, adding: “People want to take part in Pride regardless of the weather.

“Although it rained for the first hour – and it did rain on our parade – it went fantastically; it went as well as last year and everyone seemed to be having a brilliant time. We’ve had nothing but positive feedback.”

Despite its success, Paul said that this could have been the last Pride event in Cambridge, at least in its current form.

“We are concerned that we don’t have the capacity, as a team, to do another event,” he explained. “There’s only six of us and it’s not sustainable, unless another bunch of volunteers want to come along and join the team, or take the baton from the team.

“We haven’t had any other interest in people getting involved in putting an event on.”

If you are interested in volunteering for future Pride events, to ensure that it continues, email hello@cambridgepride.co.uk, or visit cambridgepride.co.uk.

Meanwhile, Pride Month was also marked at the Grand Arcade as it hosted its Rainbow Runway event last Wednesday (12 June), raising more than £1,200 for The Pink Festival Group.

More than 200 people attended, enjoying a series of events, from interactive drag bingo to a fashion show, which featured models strutting down the runway in clothes from brands within the shopping centre, including John Lewis & Partners, Hobbs, Levi’s, Mango, RetroGusto, and Vans.

[Read more: Big plan for Cambridge Pride 2019, In pictures: Cambridge Pride brings rainbow of colours to Jesus Green]

Kiko, Kuoni and Rituals also supported the event by providing prizes and goodies for the guests.

Julie Kervadec, marketing manager at the Grand Arcade, said: “We are thrilled with the success of Rainbow Runway – it was an evening full of joy and creativity.

“It was wonderful to see so many people come together to support Cambridge Pride. A big thank you to all our partners and participants, and to everyone who attended and made this event so special.”