Northern Pride closes early due to heavy rain in Newcastle

Northern Pride has closed down the event in Newcastle due to safety concerns caused by the weather.

The annual festival is the biggest LGBTQ+ event in the North East and has been taking place across the weekend of 22 and 23 of July.

It was announced of Sunday afternoon the bad weather had led to organisers making the difficult decision to stop the festivities early.

Festival Director Ste Dunn said: "Unfortunately due to adverse weather conditions, and against all efforts of the team we've had to make the extremely difficult decision to close the festival site.

"We need to ensure pride is safe and accessible for all. After making changes to the site to ensure most of the festival site could open, the continuation of heavy rain has now made the site unsafe. We’re also aware that access to the site from Exhibition Park has become hazardous with flooding under the bridge.

"Seeing over 15,000 LGBTQIA+ people and allies join us on the march and many more on the festival site, brave the weather has been heartwarming and we’re incredibly grateful for all the support. 

"We’ll be in touch during the week to ticket holders. Please bear with us as we manage the onsite situation as our priority now focuses on keeping everyone safe."

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