Oxford Pride returns this weekend and it's almost 20 years old

Drag, local bands and tribute acts including An ABBA Dream will be reviving the spirit of Pride.

Pride Day will be celebrated on Saturday June 4, starting with a Pride Parade at 12pm at Radcliffe Square.

READ ALSO: Huge jubilee food festival taking place at Blenheim Palace

After two years without a parade a big turnout is expected with placards, bright outfits and drumming.

To break from the crowds the County Hall will be a family-friendly dedicated chill area. Here, people can get their face painted, make badges and enjoy a cup of tea.  

There will also be a family zone with giant games near the Oxford Castle Mound.

In Castle Square there will be live acts from 12-6pm and Paradise Street has music all day with DJs from 4-10pm.

An ABBA Dream will be headlining this stage joining tribute act My Winehouse A Tribute to Amy and many more including the non-binary funk band Sisters of Funk and Irish folk band Moonaroon.

READ ALSO: Two more Oxford colleges pledge to end the use of non-disclosure agreements

Westgate Leiden Square will hold the Jamie Cameron Community Stage and stalls from 12-6pm.

Hosting this stage will be the famous Oxford drag duo, Rusty Kate and Miss Take. Performers include twin singer songwriters Billy and Louie, Chiika, synth pop band Sugarrush, Velvet, Sean Wyer, singer Natalie Gray and pop artist Josh White.

Paradise Square Garden will be located between the two stages and will be another dedicated chill out area.

Parade map.

Debbie Brixey Chair of Oxford Pride said: “I am looking forward to the headline ‘An ABBA Dream’ because it will make everybody dance. We want people to leave the event having had a lovely, safe, happy day.”

READ ALSO: Platinum Jubilee beacon locations in Oxfordshire : see the list

She added: “We are using this opportunity to get everybody back on the streets together and hopefully have a nice time. We will also be raising our visibility because there are still some things we need to address in this country.”

Sol Samba

This year Oxford Pride will be held on Saturday June 4 coinciding with parades in Oxford to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The idea of having a Pride in Oxford coincidentally started 20 years ago in 2002 at the Spring Bank Holiday celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. 

That year a street party was held by the two gay pubs on Paradise Street, The Jolly Farmers and The Castle Tavern.

The street party was so popular that people began talking about organising a local Pride event. Several meetings later Oxford Pride Group Ltd was formed.

In 2023 Oxford Pride will celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Read more from this author

This story was written by Rebecca Whittaker, she joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.

Rebecca covers education and news in Abingdon and Wantage.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Rebecca.Whittaker@newquest.co.uk or calling 07824524333

Follow her on Twitter @RebecWhitt

A message from our Editor

Thank you for reading this story and supporting the Oxford Mail.

If you like what we do please consider getting a subscription for the Oxford Mail and in return we’ll give you unrestricted access with less adverts across our website from the latest news, investigations, features, and sport.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok for more. 

You can also join the conversation in our Facebook groups: stay ahead of traffic alerts here, keep up to date with the latest from court here, share your favourite memories of Oxford here, get your daily dose of celebrity news here and take some time out with news that will make you smile. 

If you’ve got a story for our reporters, send us your news here. You can also list an event for free here.