Thousands celebrate first 'Pride in the Park' event in Leigh

Kicking off the summer of LGBTQ+ events across the borough, Leigh's 'Party in the Park' took place at Pennington Hall Park on Saturday, July 1.

Celebrating the history and culture of the LGBTQ+ community, the St Helens Road event had live entertainment on all day to ensure a party atmosphere, with a wide variety of music, poetry, dance and drag performances on show. 

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Cllrs Jess Eastoe and Samantha Brown at the Pride event (Image: Pride in Leigh)

A range of stall holders also came out in support of the event, while creative activities, carnival performers, and guest speakers made sure that there was something for all ages at the event. Caffeina Cafe also helped to provide food and refreshments throughout the day,

Bringing the community together in a colourful celebration, the 'Party in the Park' event was the third Pride event organised by the 'Pride in Leigh' team.

The event was said to be a great success despite the early wet weather (Image: Pride in Leigh)

Jess Eastoe, one of the 'Pride in Leigh' leaders and a recently-elected councillor in Tyldesley & Mosley Common, said: "Mother Nature woke up on the wrong side of the bed and didn’t calm down until about 2pm but as soon as the sun came out, we had 2000 people attend the event.

"Tom Stocks, The Chubby Northerner, did an amazing job on stage introducing acts and performing poems. Every performer excelled itself, bringing in their own crowds.

"We had club classics, gay anthems, rock, indie, soul and jazz throughout the day - and of course we had children and young people stealing the show with their dance and drag performances.

"The stalls were a mix of community and small businesses, offering something for everyone."

Getting into the colourful spirit (Image: Pride in Leigh)

With the event supported by Wigan Council, Manchester Pride, Imagine Act and Succeed, and Freedom Fibre, the 'Pride in Leigh' team hope to continue building on their Pride events and grow them in the town each summer.

A survey for feedback on the 'Party in the Park event can be found here, with a council-backed Wigan Pride event set to take place in Wigan town centre on Saturday, August 12.

Thousands of residents came out over the course of the day (Image: Pride in Leigh)