Northern Pride Unveils First Performers for Pride in the City
Drag icons, a 90s favourite, top DJs and leading tribute acts are all among the line-up unveiled today (Thurs 15 Feb) for this year’s new look Northern Pride.
Pride in the City, presented in partnership with NE1, will see the annual celebration move from the Town Moor to various locations across Newcastle over the weekend of 19-21 July.
And at its core will be the Northern Pride Arena at Central Park, Times Square, where an exciting and eclectic mix of performers will take to the stage across the weekend.
On Friday 19 July Pride will launch with Proud Karaoke, brought by the team behind the popular Kroud Karaoke.
The evening will include a DJ performance by Hits Radio’s James Barr. James is a regular tv presenter and stand-up comedian as well as presenting the award-winning podcast, A Gay and a Non-Gay.
The evening will be hosted by acclaimed drag queen, Ophelia B, will tickets available from £7.50p each.
On Saturday singer Whigfield – best known for her 90s hit Saturday Night – will take to the main stage, alongside Kelly Llorena and Little Mix tribute act, Little Fix.
The arena will welcome back its popular stage takeovers, with Newcastle Mela returning for a third year.
Local talent showcase event - The Future is Queer-will head up one of the takeovers, along with Queerdo.
The queer-run organisation is committed to making everyone feel welcome, regardless of their identity and will feature performances from Elektra Fence from Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK.
Sunday features an award-winning line-up, with a live DJ set from acclaimed performer Fat Tony, Ginger Johnson who won season five of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK and 2023 The Voice winners, Jen and Liv.
And “Swifties” will not want to miss Totally Taylor – a tribute to Taylor Swift.
Day tickets for the Saturday and Sunday event start at £15, with more names to be announced in the near future.
Director of Northern Pride, Ste Dunn, believes the programme will have something for everyone.
“We have put together a really exciting mix of entertainment that will have great appeal to people of all ages,” he said.
This year’s Pride In the City will see all the regular and much-loved aspects of the event return, but spread at various locations around Newcastle.
Under the theme “unapologetically visible” the aim now is to bring around 80,000 people to Newcastle during the Pride weekend,
The popular the Curious Arts Stage will this year move to Northern Stage, where a full programme of queer art and culture will be performed.
The Family and Youth Zone will be housed in the recently refurbished Assembly Rooms at Westgate Road where there will be a host of activities including arts and crafts sessions aimed at LGBTQIA+ families and young people, as well as live performances.
The Health and Wellbeing Zone will be based at Newcastle City Centre, where a range of organisations will offer advice and support, along with a mobile sexual health clinic with STI and HIV testing.
Continuing its commitment to giving LGBTQIA+ people more access to sport, Northern Pride’s Sport and Active Life Zone will take place at Northumbria University’s Sport, where a number of taster sessions and general information about sporting activities will be available.
The Rainbow Village, which traditionally hosts a number of market stalls sharing information and selling a range of unique products, will also return, staged around Grey’s Monument, Old Eldon Square and Blackett Street.
Tickets are on sale now from www.northern-pride.com/tickets and more information is available at www.northern-pride.com/prideinthecity.
