National Student Pride takes place in London this weekend.
Student Pride began at Oxford Brookes University in 2005 as a response to the Christian Union’s talk on Homosexuality and the Bible and has most recently been held in Brighton.
This year student organisers were forced to move the event from Brighton where it had been staged for the last five years through rising costs, and are staging it in London for the first time.
Students come from the four corners of the UK and Ireland for the event and organisers hope that by staging it in London it will increase attendances.
Tom Guy, National Student Pride President, said: “More than anything, our move to London is a sign of our growth and a tribute to all the students, sponsors, supporters and friends who have helped us develop from a one-off event to an essential part of the UK’s LGBT calendar”.
The weekend started on Friday with a screening of Call me Kuchu, a documentary about the LGBT situation in Uganda at Channel 4. The moving documentary follows LGBT activists in Uganda fighting against issues such as the Kill the Gays bill.
The screening was followed by a Q&A session with Tris Reid-Smith (Editor in Chief of Gay Star News), Peter Tatchell, Alistair Stewart (Assistant Director of the Kaleidoscope Trust), and Deborah Lane-Winter (Channel 4).
On Friday night the party moved to G-A-Y for registration and a club night.
Today, Saturday 22 there was a free daytime event at the University of Westminster’s Marylebone Campus. One of the main attractions was a Question Time session, in association with Attitude Magazine. Attitude editor Matthew Todd was joined by Paris Lees, who recently topped the Independent on Sunday’s 2013 Pink List alongside Lord Waheed Ali (the first gay Muslim peer), John Amaechi OBE, Amy Lamé, and Milo Yiannopoulos.
Also this afternoon there was a Bake Off, hosted by The Great British Bake Off’s 2012 winner, John Whaite and comedian Zoe Lyons; live music throughout the day; and a job fair, where employers such as National Student Pride’s sponsors, EY, Clifford Chance, The Co-Operative and IBM, were exhibiting alongside companies such as BP, GE, 4Talent, RAF & Navy and Teach First.
Tonight the club night returns to G-A-Y where Eternal and Grammy award winning Foxes are performing.
Tomorrow, Sunday the weekend finishes with a Rocky Horror Picture Show sing-along at the Prince Charles Cinema in Soho, with tickets from just £3.
National Student Pride is platinum-sponsored in 2014 by EY for the fourth consecutive year.
Liz Bingham (Managing Partner for People, UK & Ireland at EY, and Student Pride ambassador) said: “We are very proud to support National Student Pride for another year. At EY we are passionate about enabling people to come together in an environment where they feel included and respected. National Student Pride enables LGBT students to do just that”.
Law firm Clifford Chance are gold sponsors, with IBM, The Co-Operative and Asda as silver sponsors.
For more information about National Student Pride, CLICK HERE:
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