Windsor to celebrate its first-ever Pride in historic ‘festival of inclusion’

Windsor is set to celebrate its first-ever Pride in a historic “festival of inclusion”. 

The southeast England town in Berkshire is scheduled to host an inaugural Windsor & Eaton Pride event in July, with a Pride march taking place in the historical town centre, to boot.

Windsor & Eaton Pride Festival will be based in Alexandra Gardens, Windsor, which is close to the River Thames and provides an unparalleled view of Windsor Castle. The parade, meanwhile, will see attendees marching along The Long Walk, which stretches almost 2.5 miles towards the Windsor Castle fortress. 

The event also boasts music and drag performances, food, wellness, a local bands stage, karaoke, comedy, a sensory kids zone, crafts, cinema and talks, charities, yoga, and accessibility options, as per the website. 

Chairman at Windsor & Eaton Pride, Steve Harris, said the event is set to be a “festival of inclusion” where “disabilities, ethnicities and genders” will be celebrated. Harris also said that he wanted the event to be somewhere where all attendees could come and be “themselves”. 

Harris said in an interview with Radio Berkshire that accessibility would be fundamental to the event. “It’s a lot more than just an LGBT event… two of our trustees suffer from MS [multiple sclerosis] so we’re designing a festival by disabled people and including them.”

The festival is two years in the making, according to Harris, with organisers rallying for further support from local businesses. “We’re getting a lot of people behind it, ideally though we really need to push things,” he added.

Windsor & Eaton Pride is set for 26 July. The Parade kicks off at 11.45 am at The Long Walk, while the Main Pride Festival takes place at Alexandra Gardens from 12 pm-10 pm. 

Entry to Windsor & Eaton Pride is free, but a ticket is required. You can get tickets here.

• Dec 01 2023

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