Trans Pride Brighton & Hove has won Grassroots Pride of the Year at the inaugural Gaydio Pride Awards.
Nominations could be made by anyone before the deadline in December, and then it was up to the Community Panel to decide the shortlist of nominees, and then the winners of each category.
Brighton & Hove Pride was the joint winner in the Major Pride of the Year category. Gaydio said on Twitter: “They came together to condemn the World Cup in Qatar and yet individually did so much for our community, so it felt only right that Manchester Pride, Pride in London, Birmingham Pride and Brighton & Hove Pride became joint winners.”
Other winners included:
Joel Mordi, organiser of the first Pride event in Nigeria, was the winner of the Volunteer of the Year award having volunteered with a myriad of nonprofits including UK Black Pride, Crisis UK and National Student Pride.
Employee Pride Network of the Year was awarded to Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust LGBTQ+ Staff Network after the network launched a hospital wide photographic portraiture project to raise the profile and intersectional nature of their own staff LGBTQ+ community.
Trans Radio UK Football Club was honoured with the LGBTQ+ Club or Sports team of the Year award for providing a space for trans people to get playing football in a safe way without having to be subjected to questioning, harassment and doubt.
Great British Bake Off finalist, Janusz Domagala, was awarded LGBTQ+ Champion award. As the first polish gay baker on Great British Bake Off, Janusz has used his platform to support and promote LGBTQ+ in his bakes and his attire, as well as being the first to use the word transgender on the show.
Filthy Gorgeous, the weekly student night held at The Brewers in Manchester picked up the award for Venue or Event of the Year as the favourite hit night where people in the LGBTQ+ community can come together safely and dance the night away.
Charity of the Year was awarded to George House Trust, to recognise all the work they’ve been doing around HIV and fighting the stigma. The charity has been providing HIV support, advice and advocacy services to improve health outcomes for those affected since 1985. Screenwriter, Russell T Davies, one of the charity’s ambassadors also attended the ceremony.
Gaydio presented Music Artist of the Year to up-and-coming black, lesbian musician Cat Burns who already had great success with back-to-back hits including Go and People Pleaser, and this weekend will be performing at the 2023 Brit Awards. Cat Burns, upon winning the award, said: “I feel honoured to receive this award, being a queer woman and being a queer artist is massive to me. It’s super important to me to be visible and to be there showing the music industry that queer people have been here and we’ve been queer!”
The Lifetime Contribution award went to Peter Tatchell, a human rights campaigner who was arrested in Qatar for promoting the dangers for LGBTQ+ people throughout the World Cup.
Ian Wallace, Gaydio Director, said, “Last night, the inaugural Gaydio Pride Awards 2023 took place, recognising the fantastic achievements of our community and LGBTQ+ people across the UK. We were thrilled to welcome Raye, Danny Beard and Sigala to the stage as well as the winners who have gone above and beyond for the LGBTQ+ community. “It is important to offer an event, open to the public, that is able to showcase everything from the smallest of Pride festivals to trailblazing queer music artists. Bring on 2024!” For more information on this years Gaydio Pride Awards, CLICK HERE