Celebrating 20 years of Blackpool Pride Festival

Friday, 15 May 2026 09:17

By Central Radio News

Blackpool Pride Festival will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with a landmark three-day event and a two-day street party when it returns next month.

Blackpool Pride 2026 will run from Friday 5 June to Sunday 7 June at the iconic Blackpool Tower Festival Headland.

Alongside this, in a shared celebration of diversity and inclusion, more than 20 local businesses have been working together in the Rainbow Quarter to organise a community street party on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June.

Across the two days, there will be music on Lord Street in the afternoon with a host of local talent throughout both evenings.

The events mark two decades of championing equality, diversity and inclusion, bringing local people and visitors together to celebrate under this year’s powerful community chosen theme, ‘One Love, One Pride’.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “This year’s Pride event will be an amazing opportunity to celebrate diversity and inclusion, with the council working closely with the Pride Festival Committee and the local LGBTQ+ business community, to make this event hugely successful for everyone and support the ‘Be You’ agenda.”

Sara Cheston, Chair of Blackpool Pride, said: “We are so excited to be delivering what we believe to be an incredible programme over three days, with amazing headline artists including Heather Small, the legendary boy band 911 celebrating their 30th anniversary, and the Cheeky Girls, who were the original headliners at the first Pride 20 years ago.

“All the entertainment, mixed with the annual Pride Parade along the promenade starting at 11am on the Saturday, will ensure a spectacular event and experience.”

The Promenade will be closed to traffic on Saturday 6 June for the Pride parade between Burlington Road West and Springfield Road from 9.30am until 12pm.

Diversion routes will be clearly signposted.