Ely Pride 2027

With a little over 20,000 residents, Ely is a small cathedral city. It sits about 14 miles north-east of Cambridge on what was once an island in the Fens, beside the River Great Ouse. Small as it is, Ely has its own Pride festival, organised in the city rather than imported from Cambridge.

The organiser is Pride in Ely, a registered charitable incorporated organisation that used to go by the name Ely Pride. Five local people founded it in the late 2010s. A committee of volunteer trustees runs the charity, and all income and donations go back into its aims: equality, support services and education about LGBTQ+ people.

The first festival took place in August a couple of years after the charity was founded, in Jubilee Gardens by the river, and the cathedral flew a rainbow flag that day. The event later moved to the Maltings on the riverside and now uses Amherst Field next to the railway station, which offers more space, better accessibility and on-site parking. There is no march through the old town. Pride in Ely is a single festival day on a Saturday in August, running from morning until late evening, with free entry.

The programme mixes live music, drag, poetry, community and charity stalls, artisan traders, street food, children's activities and an adult market. The festival also includes a trans memorial made of handmade crosses. Sponsorship, donations, a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund and a large volunteer team pay for it.

Outside festival season the charity keeps working, with quiz nights, talks in schools and public seminars, and outreach to community groups, churches and uniformed services across the area.