Pride in the Port, Newport’s community led Pride organisation has been chosen to host UK Pride 2026.
Founded in 2022, Pride in the Port will be celebrating its fifth year championing the city’s LGBTQ+ community when it hosts this historic event.
The honour of hosting UK Pride is awarded every year by the UK Pride Organisers Network to an organisation that has demonstrated its commitment to advancing the UK Pride movement.
The announcement comes at the start of LGBT+ History Month which this February is celebrating the theme of ‘Activism and Social Change’.
Pride in the Port was selected to bring UK Pride to Newport following an ambitious bid that highlighted the city’s rich art, music and cultural heritage, its ties with the Suffragette and Chartist movements and its commitment to remaining representative of the whole of the UK with contributions from all four nations.
The organisation was founded in 2022 against the challenging backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, delivering a successful inaugural Pride at Belle Vue Park and growing year after year in its city centre home.
Last September, Pride in the Port attracted about 6,000 people to Newport city centre with over 2,000 taking part in the parade, featuring live performances from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK competitor Tayce, Lady Bushra, Don One and the fantastic Fenix, fronted by local artist Zoe Allen.
UK Pride 2026 is expected to attract attendees from across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland as well as Wales and will be held in September 2026.
Chair of Pride in the Port Andrew Mudd said:
“We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing UK Pride to Newport in 2026, a testament to all the hard work every one of our volunteers and supporters has undertaken to make Pride in the Port the standout annual event that it is.
“There are over 180 volunteer-led pride events across the UK and we are honoured to receive this vote of confidence from our peers to carry the torch for UK Pride movement in 2026.
“Pride in the Port was founded on one simple principle; that no child in Newport should feel they must leave home to be themselves. We can’t wait to get started building an even bigger stage for Newport’s LGBTQ+ community.
“Pride in the Port will be inviting community consultation from 1st February – 30th June 2025. Our movement is nothing without our community and we want this to be a pride for the community and by the community. Get involved, have your say and join us in making history.”
