Pride Cymru

Pride Cymru (previously Cardiff Mardi Gras) is a Pride festival held annually in Cardiff, Wales.

The first Cardiff Mardi Gras took place in Bute Park, Cardiff, in September 1999. The event was an immediate success with over 5,000 attending. By 2001, the number of attendees had grown to 20,000.[1][2]

The 2008 event was cancelled owing to lack of support, but it has been held every year from 2009. Cardiff Mardi Gras became a registered charity in 2010 and changed its name to Pride Cymru in 2014. Since 2012 the event has included a parade through Cardiff city centre.[2]

Controversy: Cardiff Council

In 2016, there was a rumour started that Cardiff Council had dropped support for the event. [3] In an official statement, the Pride Cymru chair said she was told by the council that they'd "made a choice not to allow events during the summer of 2017".[4] There was strong local opposition to the decision and the issue prompted a personal appeal from Sir Ian McKellen in which he compared the negative attitude toward the LGBT community with that seen in India and China on his travels.[5]

Under intense pressure, Cardiff Council reversed its decision and awarded Pride Cymru a slot later in August to move it away from other major events taking place. The organisers would instead take over the running of the Council's Big Weekend open-air music festival.[6]

Cardiff's Big Weekend

In 2017, Pride Cymru took control of the Cardiff Council's 'Big Weekend' and combined it with their LGBT pride parade to form Pride Cymrus Big Weekend.[6] As of 2017, the event is due to continue for at least five years.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "About". Pride Cymru. UK. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
  2. 1 2 Liz Day (14 August 2016). "The best pictures from the Pride Cymru festival 2016". Wales Online. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "Pride Cymru: Uncertainty over 2017 LGBT event in Cardiff". BBC News. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Fears Pride Cymru will have to find a new home because of Champions League fanzone". Wales Online. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "Sir Ian McKellen: Pride 2017 uncertainty 'alarming'". BBC News. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  6. 1 2 Mosalski, Ruth (20 December 2016). "Cardiff's Big Weekend is coming back – and organisers promise it will be bigger and better". WalesOnline. UK. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Wood, Chris (26 August 2017). "Pride Cymru: Under threat event 'safe for five years'". BBC News. UK: BBC.
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