Member Article

BID company backs Northern Pride's LGBT festival

Business Improvement District Company, NE1, has signed up to sponsor Northern Pride’s annual LGBT festival, Newcastle Pride, when it returns later this year.

The free event, which is now the second largest of its kind in the UK, is expected to attract more than 65,000 visitors to the city between July 18 and July 20, contributing in excess of £5m to the regional economy.

NE1 will be sponsoring the festival’s main stage at the Town Moor, featuring high profile performances by acts such as Sinitta, Shayne Ward and the Vengaboys.

Sean Bullick, Chief Executive of NE1, said: “Since launching in 2009, NE1 has implemented a wide range of initiatives designed to raise the profile of the city and attract additional visitors, including Alive after Five, Newcastle Restaurant Week and Newcastle Fashion Week.

“The growth of Newcastle Pride over the past few years has been fantastic and it is now the largest free annual event in the city, attracting tens of thousands of regional, national and international visitors every year.

“We have been in discussions with Northern Pride for some time about how NE1 could assist in the further growth of the event and we are delighted to now be offering our support to Newcastle Pride 2014, which is set to be the biggest yet.

Newcastle Pride, now in its seventh year, will feature a wide range of music and entertainment split across the Town Moor and Newcastle’s Times Square, all free to visitors of all ages.

The festival’s main stage, sponsored by NE1, will feature live music throughout Saturday and Sunday (July 19 and 20), with a host of stalls, entertainment zones and a fun fair open across the Town Moor.

A second stage, specially-built outside the Centre for Life, will host additional live music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (July 18 to 20) evenings, with performers including Kelly Wilde, Angie Brown and Steptastic.

Mark Nichols, Chair of charity Northern Pride which organises the event, said: “Newcastle Pride is a huge undertaking, even more so this year as it’s being extended from one day to three.

“This will obviously bring a welcome boost to Newcastle’s economy, in particular its leisure and hospitality businesses and we’re extremely grateful to NE1 and all our other sponsors for helping to make that possible.”

For information about Newcastle Pride, including a full line-up, visit www.northern-pride.com or follow @northernprideuk on Twitter.

More details about the wide range of sponsorship opportunities available can also be found by contacting Peter Darrant on 07939 610 647 or peter@peterdarrant.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sorted PR .