CELEBRATIONS of equality and love were seen throughout Bude as the Cornwall Pride tour came to town last weekend (July 1).   

Tempted by a large parade and a vast litany of entertainment, people came from far and wide for the day’s events, as part of Cornwall Pride’s aim to work towards a hate-free Cornwall for all.   

Cornwall Pride aim to promote diversity, inclusion, and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in Cornwall by bringing together people from all walks of life. They say their awareness campaigns help to break down barriers and build bridges between different communities.  

The Bude event was part of eleven annual pride events in Cornwall which also raise awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and create spaces for people to celebrate their identity and show their support for one another.  

One attendee shared their thoughts on the day, saying: “I just wanted to give a massive well done to Cornwall Pride, Bude Pride Education and the team at Diverse Events for putting on an incredible Pride and giving us Bude’s first ever pride march - the first of many we hope! Everyone involved did such a fantastic job - from the performers and the stage techs to the organisers and the stall owners - you should all be proud of yourselves for what you gave to us. The hard work and effort that goes into each event run by Cornwall Pride can be seen by the huge turnout of the public and how smoothly the events are run, and my friends and I look forward to seeing the progress each year brings! 

“Thank you for creating a safe space for everyone to be outrageously, unapologetically themselves, and for giving us a celebration of how far we have come as a society, and that we will not be silenced by anyone. I think we are all too aware of a certain minority of people giving backlash to the LGBTQ+ community so seeing such an amazing turn out was incredibly moving and shows that Love Wins, always.  

“My friends and I had such a great day, and by the looks of the people around us, so did they! We are so thankful to live in a community where love ultimately prevails and people can be entirely themselves, and we can’t wait to live in a hate-free Cornwall in the near future.” 

Ryan Ives added: “It was an amazing event, very well put together and there was loads of entertainment and a very good turnout. Everyone looked like they were having a fantastic time.”