After months of planning Weymouth & Portland Pride is only a month away, and the full weekend line up has been released to coincide with National Pride Month.

The new community event, is being brought to the town through a collaboration between The Closet and Weymouth College with support from an extended committee of dedicated LGBT and wider community volunteers.

The Dorset Echo is also backing the event.

Jamie Crage, chairman of Pride said: “Bringing Pride to Weymouth for the first time in 2019 is very significant. 50 years ago, the first Pride Parade was held in New York to raise awareness of the challenges of acceptance the LGBTQ+ community were experiencing at the time. Thankfully the world is a different place now, however, there’s still work to do and we would like to show support and recognise that some minority group still face these challenges on a daily basis.

"Weymouth and Portland Pride is all about inclusivity, not just for the LGBTQ+ community, but for everyone. It’s very humbling to know that this event will be supporting those groups and making a difference to how they are perceived and how they feel”

Julia Cohen, head of external partnerships at Weymouth College said: “Weymouth College is truly honoured to have been asked to support this event; our staff and students are involved, and we feel this is going to be an amazing event for the town.”

Weymouth & Portland Pride has recently secured support from multi-national company Schneider Electric, which will be the event’s platinum wristband sponsor.

”The inaugural #PrideByTheSeaside event will be held over the weekend of July 26-28 at Radipole Park.

Pride weekend will start with a colourful walking parade along Radipole Park Drive at 1pm. The Parade will include live music from Wessex FM, Fancy Dress Competitions and the official 50M Pride Rainbow Flag that is being transported across the country especially for #PrideByTheSeaside.

The Open Air Cinema hosted by Children’s Storyteller Mama G starts at 3pm and will show three family films, Beauty & the Beast, The Greatest Showman & Grease. Other attractions include Weymouth Beach Punch & Judy, Face Painting, glitter, hot dogs, doughnuts, popcorn and candy floss.

On Saturday, Radipole Park gates will open at 11am with the first DJ act starting at 12pm.

The party atmosphere will continue throughout the day and into the evening, with music performances including headliner Aston Merrygold from JLS, X Factor’s Misunderstood, All Togther Now’s The Sundaes, Booty Luv & Big Brovaz and Abba Revival, plus cabaret acts, silent disco, children’s fun fair, bungee trampolines, trade & charity stalls, Bella Ceramics potter’s wheel & host of delicious food and drink.

The fun begins again on Sunday at 12pm with another day of musical entertainment and performances from tribute artists Lady Gaga and Best of the Boy Bands. Local bands & DJs including Weymouth College Students, The Leggomen, Stagecoach Theatre Company and  Weymouth’s Summer Panto - Pirates of the Pavilion.

Sponsorship to date

A successful Weymouth BID funding application initially helped shape the event and get ideas off the ground, Pride have gone on to secure sponsorship and support from across the town and wider including:

Schneider, ASM, Weyline, Shalim’s, DrinkInc, WeyPrint, PxlTree, Anton’s Kitchen, Unity Dorset, The Veterans Hub, Floral Couture, OT Technicians, Oakes Insure, Fish & Fritz, Brunches, Quayside Bar & Kitchen, Aura, Cloud Accountancy, Marquee Elegance, Somewhere Else, MSW Landscaping, AJT, rendezvous, Slug and Lettuce, Best Western, First Wessex, Lily Housing Project, Remarkable Carpets, The Duke of Cornwall, 02, Dorset Council, Weymouth Town Council, Dorset Ability Group, USB, COOP, HSBC, WGHLA.

Tickets for Weymouth & Portland Pride are strictly limited for the weekend and are available now from  https://weymouth-pride.co.uk/

Weymouth & Portland Pride is a CIC, a not for profit community interest company. All ticket revenue raised goes directly back into the operational and running costs of producing and delivering #PrideByTheSeaside 2019 and future events.