Pride in Liverpool (formerly Liverpool Pride), is an annual festival of LGBT culture which takes place across various locations in Liverpool City Centre including the gay quarter. Audience numbers reach up to 75,000 people, making it one of the largest free Gay Pride festivals in Europe.
The event is always held on the closest weekend to 2 August, in commemoration of the death of Michael Causer, the young gay man who was murdered in the city in 2008.
Pride in Liverpool usually features a parade and march which sets off on the Saturday at St George's Hall, winding its way through the city centre and ending up at the main site of the festival. The parade itself attracts over 20,000 participants which excludes the spectators who observe along the route. Also included is a large open air festival featuring a number of stages, street stalls and street entertainment. More relaxed events usually follow on the Sunday which often include sports, arts and cultural events across the city.
Pride in Liverpool is organised by the LCR Pride Foundation, which champions the rights of LGBT people across the six districts of Halton, Knowsley, City of Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.
Organisation Pride in Liverpool was organised by the LCR Pride Foundation, a registered charity established in 2019. In 2025 the Foundation announced there would be no Pride Festival or march due to "financial and organisational challenges", in part as a result of their decision to end their partnership with Barclays.
On 1 July 2025, Sahir House announced a Pride event and celebrations would take place on 26 July 2025 and would be renamed 'Liverpool's Pride' 'because this pride belongs to all of us'. Sahir House is the city's oldest LGBTQ+ charity and the new Pride would be at a new venue with a new route.
History
Up until 2010, Liverpool was the largest British city to not hold a Pride and it took many years of campaigning to establish a stable and lasting celebration in the city. The campaign took a significant turning point in 2008 when the newly formed Liverpool LGBT Network voted that establishing a permanent Pride in the city would be one of its key priorities. At the height of Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture, it was felt that staging a successful festival to rival those of other large UK cities was a realistic and attainable goal. Later in the year, the movement began to gather pace and was bolstered by a renewed sense of urgency and determination following the high-profile homophobic murder of Michael Causer on the outskirts of the city.
A motion in support of Liverpool Pride was approved by a full meeting of Liverpool City Council in 2009.
The first official Pride was successfully held in the gay quarter in 2010, centred on Dale Street and Stanley Street, however, in 2011 due to a funding shortfall the decision was taken to relocate the main focus of the festival to the city's Pier Head. Following this announcement, a public backlash ensued and sections of the local LGBT community planned to boycott the event. In response more than 30 businesses around Stanley Street organised a complementary festival to take place in the gay district alongside the main event.
Whilst Liverpool held its first "Official" Pride in 2010, it was not first ever in the city. Previous Prides have been held in 1979, 1990–1992, and in 1995.
Past festivals
YearDatesThemeLocationHeadliner(s)Description2025 Saturday 26 July Liverpool's Pride Pier Head, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool Parish Church, Pride QuarterSugababes, local LGBTQ artists, activists, drag queens and organisations.In Summer 2025, the LCR Pride Foundation ended its sponsorship partnership with Barclays. Following a recent UK Supreme Court ruling, Pride organisers condemned the bank's decision to prohibit transgender women from using female bathrooms in company buildings as contrary to the charity's objectives and ethos and a violation of transgender human rights. As a result, Pride's Board of Directors announced significant financial and organisational challenges and the cancellation of 2025's original festival plans. A last minute attempt to rescue the festival came with input from Sahir House, a Liverpool charity supporting people living with HIV. Fresh plans were announced to start the annual 'March with Pride' at the city's Pier Head for the first time to finish at the M&S Bank Arena where a ticketed event featuring cabaret and market stalls would take place. The theme 'Liverpool's Pride' was chosen as an expression of visibility and resilience. Sahir House organised the event over a period of seven weeks, meanwhile the LCR Pride Foundation committed to working with new sponsors and Liverpool City Council to secure the future of the festival. A vigil to remember LGBT individuals lost to violence, illness, social isolation, discrimination and exclusion was held at Liverpool Parish Church.2024 Friday 26 July Saturday 27 July Sunday 28 July Be Heard Pier Head, Royal Albert Dock, Pride QuarterKatrina and the Waves, Jake Shears, Kelly Llorenna, Lolly, Urban Cookie Collective, Danny Beard, Kelly Wilde and more. The Cheeky Girls performed in the Pride Quarter.LCR Pride Foundation held what they called the 'biggest Pride event the city had ever seen'. Several stages hosted acts across the Pier Head and Royal Albert Dock. Over 12 LGBT venues held festivities in the city's Pride Quarter. A first of its kind open air orchestra concert known as 'Pride Classical' kickstarted the events at Pier Head fronted by Jake Shears, Danny Beard, several pop stars, West End theatre performers and a 32 piece orchestra. Markets, family activities and pop up events featuring artists from the local LGBT community were held across the city centre including the Royal Albert Dock. The British Firefighter Challenge, an annual sporting competition, came to Liverpool for the first time. The annual March with Pride broke all records in terms of the numbers participating.2023 Saturday 29 July Sunday 30 July Shout it Loud Pier Head, Pride Quarter, Mann Island, Museum of Liverpool, Saint Nicholas Church Gardens, Liverpool One, Royal Albert Dock, Metquarter and St Johns Shopping CentreKerry Katona (Pride Quarter) Arthur Britney Joestar (Pier Head)Pride in Liverpool 2023 adopted a new format compared to previous years. LCR Pride Foundation announced funding issues and lack of a major sponsor and confirmed that there would be no main stage or headline act. However, the festival went ahead with a number of pop-up events, curated zones, street parties, food vendors, chill out zones and areas suitable for children, which were spread across the City Centre. Organisers argued that the new format would allow the event to grow in the future. Continuing Liverpool's Eurovision 2023 legacy and solidarity with Ukraine, Liverpool's annual 'March with Pride' was held jointly with KyivPride on behalf of Ukraine's capital city Kyiv. Kyiv was unable to host their own event at home due to the ongoing Russian invasion. As a result of the combined efforts and attendance from Ukrainian delegates and community members from across the UK and Europe, an estimated 20,000 people participated in the march which set a new record for the festival. Street parties were held on Cumberland Street and Eberle Street in the Pride Quarter with performances hosted by The Masquerade Bar on a stage at Cumberland Street. Fringe events were organised by local businesses in the week running up to and during Pride including drag brunches, film and theatre performances, and a Mersey Ferry evening cruise on the River Mersey.2022 Saturday 30 July Sunday 31 July Come Together Pier Head and Pride Quarter, LiverpoolBoney M. featuring Maizie Williams, Linda Gold's FunnyBoyz, Filla Crack, House of La Porta, Young Homotopia, Arthur Britney Joestar featuring Many Hands One Heart, performances on the main stage by local LGBT venues including OMG, The Lisbon and Superstar Boudoir.Due to planned roadworks on Tithebarn Street, the festival site was moved to Liverpool's waterfront at the Pier Head. The annual Pride march, which attracted over 12,000 people, was also altered to follow a route to the Pier Head. Irish pop star Samantha Mumba was due to headline at the main stage but due to difficulty travelling from the United States was not able to perform. The main stage was programmed by Sound City and was hosted throughout the day by Jordan Lee from Radio City (Liverpool) and Hits Radio Pride as well as Jay Hynd from The Guide Liverpool. Film with Pride Cinema Lorry was also held which showed LGBT films including The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Cabaret.2021 Saturday 31 July Sunday 1 August From Now On Online and Indoor at Pride Quarter, LiverpoolSpeeches from local leaders and short interviews were held online. The 13 LGBT venues in Liverpool's gay quarter also held an indoor festival. The street festivities at Pride in Liverpool 2021 were originally planned to go ahead as normal, however, on 15 March 2021, LCR Pride Foundation announced that the physical events (including the annual March with Pride) would be cancelled for a second consecutive year. The Foundation cited the uncertainty and risks around mass public gatherings and COVID-19 and argued that there was no way to deliver a safe festival for over 50,000 people. Lewis Collins, Chair of the LCR Pride Foundation Board of Directors, said: "Our decision to cancel Pride in Liverpool and March with Pride for 2021 has not been taken lightly." An alternative virtual Pride march was held on the LCR Pride Foundation's social media channels. Individuals, groups and businesses were invited to submit videos and images of marching, cheering and holding placards in their own homes whilst making a pledge outlining actions and changes that they would take to highlight the inequalities and injustices that the LGBT community face. Speeches from local leaders and short interviews were also held.
In addition, the LCR Pride Foundation worked in collaboration with Marketing Liverpool to launch the ‘Pride Quarter Indoor Festival' on 31 July. The festival intended to launch a new era for the city’s LGBT quarter exactly ten years after becoming the UK’s first formally recognised LGBT area. The festival included an official rebrand of Liverpool's Stanley Street gay quarter as the 'Pride Quarter' and an indoor festival took place in the district's 13 LGBT venues. A dedicated LGBT page on the Visit Liverpool website was also launched to advertise the Pride Quarter as a tourist destination and banners were put in place in the numerous streets around the area to mark the inauguration.