Norwich Pride 2022 (July 30th) was a roaring success, after 3 years of reduced pride activities due to the pandemic there was a record turnout of an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 attendees, all eager to express themselves and their pride. There were many activities and events this year, and so we will be reporting on the ones we personally saw.
There was a new edition this year of the makers market, which featured lots of fresh faced local creatives and local groups displaying rich artistry for customers to peruse – including toilet roll doily’s with wrestling actions figures atop, two of which were getting married! There was so much body positivity that it brought a tear to many of the attendees eyes.
The forum hosted stalls from lots of groups this year and staged events, starting with the Natasha Kurson interview featuring Adrian Sweeny, a social media influencer, and then a discussion panel with 4 academics before the performances started. Charlie Caine performed a song “Everything’s fine on TERF Island,” and a poem “Transphobia: A Plea To The Media,” to standing ovation. The Common Lot sang their original song “Song Of Protest” (also written by Mr Caine) and an updates version of “Glad To Be Gay”, followed by Max Dobson with a song on acoustic guitar, and a poem by Hayley Burwood, all of which were fantastic. Sing With Pride were lucky enough to perform twice on the day, both in the forum singing their OUT140 Medley and “Over The Rainbow”, and joined Grace Petrie on the main stage for her final song of her set “Pride”.
The Main stage saw many drag acts this year, the art becoming ever more popular locally, and Grace as the Headliner. At one point after the March attendance was so high the council had to close some of the gates to Chapplefield Gardens.
The march itself was the biggest it has ever been, with the end of the line starting almost an hour after the front had left. At the front of the parade was a 50 meter trans flag, carried by the local trans youth group Evolve and trans activists. Speeches from the mayor and chair of pride for this year both recounted the importance of supporting the trans people in our community through this difficult time.
