ExtraCare joins thousands at Birmingham Pride

It was wonderful to see people of all generations come together to celebrate inclusion, community, and individuality. Championing the message of ‘pride in every generation’ made the experience especially meaningful.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Birmingham over the Bank Holiday weekend for the city’s annual Pride parade, with ExtraCare joining the celebrations to highlight the importance of Pride in every generation.

One of the UK’s biggest celebrations of LGBTQ+ culture, Birmingham Pride was estimated to attract more than 75,000 people to its ticketed festival across the weekend, with more than 6,000 participants from over 180 organisations taking part in Saturday’s parade.

The parade began at 12:00 on Victoria Street on Saturday. Braving the rising temperatures parade goers travelled through the city centre before finishing at Hippodrome Square, with floats, music, dancing and fancy dress on display throughout the route. ExtraCare’s own float honoured pride across all ages and in every generation. The bus carried a group from across the charity consisting of residents, staff and family members.

“We had a great day at Birmingham Pride,” said Judith Doran, Head of People for ExtraCare. “It was a lovely atmosphere, the sun shone, and our ExtraCare bus carried staff, family members and residents from age 9 to 90!”

With performances from Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle, and Boney M the event culminated in musical celebrations.

“Birmingham Pride was a truly joyful and inspiring event for all of us,” said Kelly Susans, Location Manager at ExtraCare’s Sunley Court, “I brought along three staff members and it was wonderful to see people of all generations come together to celebrate inclusion, community, and individuality. Championing the message of ‘pride in every generation’ made the experience especially meaningful.”

For ExtraCare, the day was a celebration not only of Pride, but of the power of inclusion and belonging across all ages.