Thousands turn out for Birmingham Pride Festival

In spite of the heavy rain, there were colourful scenes as huge crowds turned out for Birmingham Pride Festival today.

The gay rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, is calling on Commonwealth nations to sign a declaration saying they will not discriminate against athletes in the forthcoming games in Glasgow.

He claims 80% of participating countries criminalise homosexuality. Speaking during Birmingham Pride, which saw huge crowds in spite of heavy rain, he said:

"I totally support Glasgow hosting the Commonwealth Games, but I think they should require every participating nation to sign a declaration saying that they will not discriminate - on any grounds - in the selection of their athletes.

"Right now, most Commonwealth countries would never, ever, select an openly gay or lesbian athlete - no matter how good they are - and that is because of the deeply ingrained homophobia in those countries. That is really unfair, it is not sporting and it should not be tolerated!"

Paramedics from Birmingham will be part of the Birmingham Pride parade through the city centre, for the very first time.

Members of the Trust’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) working group will be marching in the parade, to support the region’s LGBT communities.

John Renshaw, a Birmingham-based Paramedic Clinical Team Mentor said: “As part of the Trust’s community engagement, we felt passionately that Birmingham Pride, one of the biggest gay pride events in Britain, was something we needed to get involved in.

Ten members of staff from across the region and from different roles will be wearing pink West Midlands Ambulance Service t-shirts and flying a rainbow flag during the pride march.

Tens of thousands are expected at Birmingham Pride Festival this weekend.

The parade will leave Victoria Square at 12 noon with more than fifty floats and walking groups parading around the city.

The festival is the largest two day event of its kind in the UK.

The carnival parade will be led by Human Rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. As well as the carnival parade, the event also features performances on both Saturday and Sunday from Katy B, Connor Maynard, Gabrielle, Ms Dynamite and Take That’s Howard Donald.