Croydon PrideFest 2017

Croydon PrideFest is back for 2017! The theme of this year’s event will be 50 years of campaigning for LGBT equality – marking the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Act that partially decriminalised homosexuality. We will be staging the Pride parade and festival on July 15th 2017, with live music, dance, food and drink for all to enjoy. There will also be community groups and charities promoting the activity they do in and around Croydon. The procession will begin at North End, through Croydon, heading towards the main festival area in Queen’s Gardens. The festival, which will also feature stalls and exhibits, will have cabaret and comedy on offer until 8pm, followed by a number of after-parties. Headline acts arranged include Edinburgh Festival turn Topping and Butch. We had a great turnout last year, and are hoping for an bigger turnout this year! We welcome all individuals or organisations who wish to take part in the parade to come and join us. We hope to demonstrate the amazing level of support for Pride in Croydon. Important parade information: Start Point 1.1: We shall gather in the court yard area opposite St Michael & All Angels with St James Anglo Catholic Church, Poplar Walk, Croydon CR0 1UA between 11:15am - 11:45am on Saturday 15th July for a quick briefing before we set off at 12:00pm. If any groups are not there by that time we will be unable to provide security for you and shall therefore not be considered a part of the parade. 1.2: Should any group members have any issues or queries at this time, please report to your group leader/s. 1.3: At no time from start to end of the parade are drugs, alcohol or illegal substances allowed to be taken or be on your person. If this is ignored then this shall result in the removing of that person or persons from the parade and, depending on the severity of any illegal substances found on that group member, may be reported to security and police and shall be barred from taking part in all future Croydon Pride Parades. 1.4: Should a parade participant show noticeable signs of intoxication they shall not be allowed to take part in the parade. Parade Route 2.1: Starting from the meeting place in Poplar Walk, the parade shall be led down towards North End where we shall turn left and down towards High Street. Once at the tram tracks cross section between North End, High Street, George Street & Church Street we shall stop to give other groups the time to arrive at this location. At this point all tall flags, banners or decorations exceeding the height restrictions must be taken down due to the low tram lines above which could create a health and safety risk. When ready, the parade shall continue down High Street and left onto Katharine Street. Afterwards we take the first right into Fell Road and enter Queen's Gardens marking the end of the parade and the beginning of Croydon LGBT+ Pride 2017. 2.2: If at any point on route any parade participant should be harassed by a member of the public this should be reported to security or a member of our support team immediately. Themes 3.1: As of 1967 LGBT+ Pride has been entertaining the public all over the world. It is due to this that we wish to host a 1960's themed parade, marking 50 years of LGBT+ Pride events. Restrictions 4.1: Due to the safety restrictions of the parade route we must limit the height of all flags, banners, costumes and decorations to 2 metres. 4.2: Strictly no indecent forms of nudity/exposure are to be shown either by costume, banner, portrait, decoration or prop. If ignored the person/s shall be removed from the parade. 4.4: Any indecent acts of a sexual nature, foul language or aggressive behaviour shall be seen as inappropriate behaviour and may result in expulsion from the parade by our security team or police. 4.5: During the parade, there shall be support team members on either side of your groups. We ask that you keep inside the confines of our team members so they may monitor all potential health and safety hazards without distraction. 4.6: At any point during the parade the management team may ask the parade to pause at any location along the route. This may be due to potential health and safety reasons, security reasons, or to give groups further back the time to reach that same location. This must be respected for all participants safety.