COLCHESTER Pride will kick off today as the city hosts its first ever Pride march.

The event will celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and mark 50 years since London’s first Pride festival in 1972.

Organisers are also pushing the boat out all day today by holding their biggest event to date.

The Pride march will run from 10.30am and start at the Mercury Theatre, with no tickets or prior booking needed.

The Pride festival will then run from 11am at Firstsite, and finish at 7pm.

At 8pm this evening an afterparty is arranged at Coda bar in Colchester High Street.

Ben Powell, who is a trustee and committee member at Colchester Pride, said the Pride event is all about helping people feel comfortable with their sexuality and supporting the LGTBQ+ community.

He said: "It’s more important than ever – same sex marriage is legal but in the last six to 12 months we have seen an increase in anti-trans rhetoric and have seen trans abuse go up.

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"A lot of progress has been made – if you look at the first Pride event in London 50 years ago, a lot has changed – but we are not at a point where everyone is able to live as their authentic selves without harassment or impediment.

"The trans community in particular is subject to a lot of difficulty at the moment – that’s on the increase compared to five to ten years ago.

"Although we have progressed, it feels like we have taken a backstep in the past few years."

Mr Powell added Colchester Pride has grown in popularity each year as more people feel comfortable celebrating who they are.

"There were only a couple of hundred of people in attendance in 2017 – last year we had 1,800 people," he said.

"Pride matters because there are those who aren’t confident enough to live openly – they need to see that it is possible, and that there is a community which will support them."

Tickets for Colchester Pride taking place today can be bought at www.colchesterpride.org/buy-tickets.