COLCHESTER Pride is to make a long-awaited return next weekend with a host of performances and activities taking place.

It will be the fourth time Colchester has hosted a Pride festival, with the event having previously taken place in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

However, it had to move online last year due to the Covid pandemic.

Dan Deller-Thompson, chairman of Colchester Pride, has helped to organise a line-up featuring a variety of performances as well as a wide-ranging mix of artists.

He said: “We have created a really diverse line-up with different ethnic backgrounds and different types of performances.

“We’ll have dance, drag, performance, art – there’ll be something for everyone and we are pleased with what we’ve got happening.”

Pride is well-known for being a colourful and vibrant event but it is still more than a day of activities and performances.

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Mr Deller-Thompson explained that for those who are nervous or uncertain about their sexuality, the Pride event is important in helping people recognise there is a clear and active LGBT community to be a part of in Colchester.

He said: “I think the obvious thing [about the Pride event] is visibility – having people know that we are just regular people and not to be feared.

“But the other side of Pride is that it might be the first chance for people to connect to their community.

“Often it’s the first time people have been around other LGBT people, but it is a family and a community they can find support from.”

And these ideas of community go far beyond the Pride festival as a one-day event.

Mr Deller-Thompson explained it can go a long way towards helping the process of self-acceptance.

“There is only so much we can achieve in a day,” he said. “Seeing people who are fully embracing who they are will help you embrace who you are, and seeing people having really happy and full lives being openly gay will help people embrace themselves.

“It is empowering to see and I would want that to have a knock-on effect on them and allow them to accept themselves more.”

The event is at Firstsite in Colchester on Saturday. Tickets cost £7 for those over the age of 14, with the event lasting from 11am until 7pm.