Birmingham City Council, which declared bankruptcy in late 2023, has removed £15,000 sponsorship for this year’s Birmingham Pride festival.
Lawrence Barton, the festival’s director, expressed disappointment in this decision, telling BBC Midlands Today that the authority was “not supporting our event, just earning revenue from it”.
The council had provided £15,000 in sponsorship to the festival in 2022 and 2023. However, this year, the financial support has been removed; a repeat after it previously removed financial support in 2010.
Lawrence also revealed that, unlike previous years, Birmingham Pride have been charged an additional £7,040 plus VAT for the use of the vacant Smithfield site, where the two-day festival is held. Since Birmingham Pride moved to the site in 2021, its use to Birmingham Pride has been free of charge.
Barton explains: “To face being charged for use of a space which ordinarily lies empty has a very negative impact on us.”
The council’s Labour leader John Cotton, told Pride organisers about this decision in an email that read: “the council is currently facing serious financial challenges and must maximise its income to help offset budget pressures”. He added the £7,040 charge was reduced from £31,295, due to Pride’s status as a community event.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the council added: “The council is currently facing serious financial challenges so we are unable to waiver the total charge for using the Smithfield development land to host the Birmingham Pride Festival 2024.
“We will continue to work with the organisers to ensure that the Birmingham Pride Festival continues to be a successful event.”
Birmingham Pride 2024 will be held across May bank holiday, and the line-up includes Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Tia Kofi, Heather Small, and Gok Wan.
