History made as Isle of Man celebrates first ever Pride event

The Isle of Man has been celebrating its first ever Pride event today following changes to the law which decriminalised homosexuality.

The Manx Government didn't lift restrictions until 1992, 25 years after England.

The celebrations today saw around 50 people marching the flag into the Villa Marina gardens, while thousands gathered to celebrate LGBTQ+ diversity.

The organiser of the event, Alan Shea, was the man whose iconic Tynwald Day protest in 1991 came to symbolise the fight to overturn the island's anti-homosexuality laws.

On that day he appeared at the foot of Tynwald Hill dressed in the striped uniform of a concentration camp victim to highlight the plight of gay people in the Isle of Man.

Three years later, the law was repealed, but it has taken until January 2020 for the Manx Government to give a formal apology for the law - and Mr Shea was present to witness history being made.