Bath Celebrates Pride with Joy and Resistance
Hundreds March to Champion LGBTQ+ Rights
Bath’s streets echoed with vibrant energy as hundreds participated in a Pride event aimed at spreading “joy, resistance and community spirit.” The volunteer-run festival returned for its second year, offering a platform for the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate identity and advocate for equality.
A Display of Community and Solidarity
The Somerset city hosted a lively parade followed by a picnic, featuring live music, stalls, demonstrations, and performances. The event serves as a crucial opportunity to acknowledge the ongoing challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community, including discrimination, while actively promoting the advancement of their rights.
Nathan Maradei, an organizer, emphasized the event’s dual purpose: “The festival was a chance to celebrate queer identity and protest in the face of overwhelming negative pressure.” He added, “It feels really important to march through the streets of the places we walk through every day and be visible. Show that we don’t want to be quiet. We are here and we are not hiding.”
Challenging Perceptions and Building Community
“I think the idea that an older city can’t have change is a little bit self-defeatist, and we don’t have to stick with that narrative,” Maradei stated, highlighting the importance of visibility for the community.
Liz Kombate, representing the charity Mind, attended to raise awareness about mental health within the LGBTQ+ community. “We’re here to show ally ship for the community and put Bath Mind on the map, to show we’re a safe space,” she explained. “I think it’s really important, especially now, more than ever, given the social and political climate.”
Her sister, Dolly Kombate, echoed this sentiment: “I think there’s often this idea of places like Bath as a smaller city that it’s maybe not as progressive, but we’re here to show people that’s wrong.”
Pride events across the UK continue to highlight significant disparities. For example, a 2023 Stonewall report found that nearly half of LGBTQ+ people in Britain had experienced depression in the past year, with many citing discrimination as a contributing factor (Stonewall, 2023).
