Birmingham Pride: Thousands set to descend on city centre as future home of event 'uncertain'
The biggest annual event in Birmingham's calendar takes place this weekend, but the future home of Birmingham Pride is 'uncertain' and 'bleak' - because the event could be 'homeless' after 2025, says the organiser.
Iconic pop artists Natasha Bedingfield and Sophie Ellis-Bextor are just some of the names performing at the 3-day festival event, which is held on the Smithfield site in Digbeth in the city centre.
It will be the 27th year of Birmingham Pride, which sees a parade of colour and inclusivity walk through the city centre from Centenary Square to Gay Village on Saturday morning. Around 75,000 people either take part or cheer from the sidelines.
The city's largest festival has been housed on the Smithfield site for five years. The 17-hectare site was formerly home to Birmingham's Wholesale Markets and hosted the beach volleyball and 3x3 basketball competitions during the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
But the site is set to be redeveloped with new homes and retail spaces under regeneration plans set to cost £1.9bn and labelled by developers Lendlease as "once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape England's second city".
It means after 2025, Birmingham Pride will have to find a new home - which could be much further from Gay Village, which is the LGBTQ+ heart of the city.
The director of Birmingham Pride, Lawrence Barton, has urged the council to help rehouse the event in the city centre once the Smithfield site is under construction, because Pride is 'vital' for the local economy.
He told ITV News Central: "The future of the festival at the moment looks a bit bleak because we've been trying to establish a a home for Pride and an alternative to Smithfield over the past two years - with little to no success.
"I've spoken to the leaders of the council and we've yet to identify a space in the city centre that suitable.
“Taking pride out of the city centre would be a massive decision and I don't know whether that is viable. The event provides much-needed economic income for businesses, transport, hotels and bars."
“I think it's high time that the local authority and the leaders actually show some concern for what is effectively the largest event that takes place within the region each year.”
Mr Barton said previous plans for the Smithfield development by Lendlease included event space that could have welcomed 20,000 people, but the proposed space has since been reduced to a size that wouldn't be able to accommodate the festival's usual numbers.
He added: "This is a city with hosted Commonwealth Games, we bid for Eurovision, where on earth are large scale events supposed to take place in what is the second city outside of London?
"There are so many new residential blocks going up in the city, and less and less green open spaces for people to enjoy.
"It's sad that the strategy isn't more it isn't more pragmatic and forward-thinking." Mr Barton says he believes there are city centre options, such as other empty sites, that could be suitable for the event if 'meaningful' conversations could be had with the council.
He told ITV News Central: “I’ve always felt we were left to fight for our own survival.
"Pride has hopped around the Gay Village using carparks and other spaces since 1997 - from one disused space to another.
"At some point we are going to be squeezed out of a space that serves the whole community. Yet - there are city centre options that could be available to Pride if there was a willingness to take it seriously.”
Birmingham City Council said it will work with Pride organisers to help secure its future.
A spokesperson said: "Birmingham Pride is now the largest community festival held in this city and is a fantastic celebration of our diversity.
"It has been great to see it grow from strength to strength, and its success means it is more of a challenge to find a suitable venue but we will continue to work with the organisers and partners to help secure its future."