Pride charity calls out event for 'misleading' name

The organisers of a city's Pride event have said a planned separate paid-for festival is "misleading people" by using a similar name.

The Notts Pride charity - which organises a free Pride event each July in the city - has said people are confusing this with a paid event at Binks Yard, in The Great Northern Close. Both events are being held on the same day.

Leigh Ellis from Notts Pride said: "We felt it was time to speak up and ask them not to use 'Nottingham Pride' in their marketing. It's misleading and it creates an affiliation which isn't there."

In response, Live Republic and Groovebox, which organises the event, said they were now considering alternative event names to "increase clarity".

Notts Pride, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, began in the Hockley area of the city in 1997 and has taken place in a number of locations since then.

Nottingham Pride Festival began in 2024 with tickets for this year's event starting at £16.75.

Both events are being held on Saturday 25 July.

Notts Pride posted a statement on social media about Nottingham Pride Festival asking them not to market the event in this way.

Ellis said he understood businesses did and could make profit from Pride events but added the title was confusing the two.

"Nottingham Pride is for charity, Nottingham Pride is our LGBTQ+ community here and we've always been very clear about how it should be which is free for everybody in the city, open and inclusive.

"When Nottingham Pride Fest came on the scene a few years ago... we've had to explain our position to people who have often been confused about who they are and who we are, with people expecting [their] event to be free," he said.

Ellis added their organisation had received criticism for decisions not made by them and it "added to the confusion".

"We felt it was time to speak up... we do this as a group of volunteers for our community, we don't do it for profit.

"We understand businesses do make profit from Pride - that's fine, we all benefit from a thriving city... but we feel by them using the words Nottingham Pride, people [from outside the city] might not know that their event is not Nottingham Pride," he said.

A spokesperson for organisers Live Republic and Groovebox said following their 2025 event, they reached out to Notts Pride to discuss a partnership for upcoming events but the charity "refused".

Organisers said they now planned to donate £2 per ticket to national charity LGBTQ Foundation.

"As a national company ourselves, holding events up and down the UK, we value supporting whole communities as well as local communities.

"The partnership with LGBTQ Foundation fulfils both of these objectives and we will be working with [them] closely to ensure that the maximum benefit from the donations is received - currently, we are looking at the money being fully invested in the helpline that they operate so that all individuals can have access to support and community.

"A formal request to the head office regarding a change of event name has never been sent from Notts Pride - we first heard of this request when they issued their statement. We value feedback, however, and are now considering alternative events names to increase clarity for the general public," the spokesperson added.

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