UK Black Pride confirms headline act for 2024
UK Black Pride will return this summer. (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for UK Black Pride)
The importance of UK Black Pride (UKBP) has been restated as the headline act is revealed for this year’s East London celebration.
The event takes place on Sunday (11 August) at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in Stratford, from midday to 8pm, and the headline act will be singer-songwriter Amaria BB, whose single “Slow Motion” has dominated summers since its release in 2021, with the hit boasting more than 77 million streams on Spotify.
Kaylee Golding, Reptile B and Thanyia Moore will also take to the main stage.
“[UK Black Pride] was created from a need to have a safe space to explore and celebrate sexuality, gender and race, with specific attention to how these identities intersect,” a spokesperson said.
“UKBP is necessary as it allows cultural heritage and diversity to take centre stage for the Black and people of colour (POC) LGBTQIA+ communities it serves.”
A key milestone for the event, which was founded in 2005 by Phyll Opoku-Gyimah (Lady Phyll) and other Black lesbian activists, was its 10th anniversary, they added.
It continues to support Black and POC who “experience discrimination on multiple fronts, along sexuality, gender and race lines”. The spokesperson said the event is as important as ever because these people have “often encountered additional marginalisation at mainstream Pride events as they are not exempt from the racism that exists in society at large”.
In response to a 2021 survey, UKBP launched a Community Action Fund to support organisations that aid Black and LGBTQ+ POC across the UK.
The event aims to be “truly inclusive by listening to the needs of communities it serves”.
The spokesperson went on to say: “One example of this is the overarching themes of disability inclusion. The event is accessible to wheelchair users and others with mobility needs, includes British sign language interpretation for the deaf community, and welfare zones with safe spaces for neurodivergent people and other people with additional welfare needs.”
Last year, more than 25,000 people joined in the fun and there are plans for “growing and continuing to serve the community in any and all ways it needs” for next year’s 20th anniversary.
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