The community pride event that ‘secretly started’ to rock Birmingham this weekend

Kings Heath will become Queens Heath this weekend as the annual pride event takes place in the borough. Queens Heath Pride is an annual community event that started “in secret” as an antidote to the anti-LGBTQIA+ protests that took place outside Birmingham schools three years ago.

Now a ‘main event on a large scale’, Queens Heath Pride takes place from 11am to 6pm with performances on York Road and family crafts, a family party, market and circus taking place on Heathfield Road.

No performers have yet been announced but the event, which began as a joke by Brummie comedian Joe Lycett. Last year the event was headlined by Self Estiem and before that Eurovision star Daði Freyr took the top spot in Kings Heath.

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There will be a Queens Heath Pride parade and between 11am and 12pm visitors are invited to the Community Center to make a DIY flag to fly. The event is free and is funded by merchandise sales and donations, so the community is invited to come out to the Queens Heath Fabulous Market between 11am and 4pm to pick up an exclusive Queens Heath Pride t-shirt alongside ‘delights, goodies and items of handicraft”.

At noon, a storyteller will share a How Brave Is The Wren pride story with the children before the parade begins. Everyone is invited to join in and it’s described as “probably the world’s shortest pride parade”.

After that, there will be performers for the rest of the day and anyone can show up to participate. At the family party, there’s a big disco for the kids to get involved in and House of MASH will be performing the Hullabaloo Circus Show in Kings Heath Community Center car park from 1pm to 4pm.

To ensure everyone can be involved in the celebration, there will be a British Sign Language interpreter on the main stage, as well as a designated accessible viewing area for the main stage. There are no seats though, so keep that in mind. There will be a quiet space with mental health first aid staff as well as signposted curb ramps.