Last year some 15,000 people took to the streets of Liverpool for the annual celebration
By Josh Parry
LGBT & Identity Producer
Thousands of people are expected to march in Liverpool, as the city hosts Pride on behalf of Ukraine.
Liverpool City Region Pride Foundation pledged to host KyivPride after Ukraine banned the staging of marches following the Russian invasion.
After the city hosted Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine, organisers saw it as an opportunity to continue the legacy.
Hundreds of LGBT+ Ukrainians are due to march alongside people celebrating Liverpool’s annual Pride event.
Andi Herring, head of Liverpool City Region Pride Foundation, said: “LGBT+ people are a global community, and that’s why it is crucial that we ‘shout it loud’ in solidarity with all LGBT+ people across the world.
“We are honoured to be hosting KyivPride this year and standing alongside the work they do in Ukraine for our community. Of course, it would be hard to forget our reasons behind hosting Eurovision and the lasting bond with Ukraine that will remain with us.”
Last year,more than 15,000 people tookto the streets for Pride in Liverpool, which sees the city’s streets come alive with music, dancing and costume every year.
Edward Reese, one of KyivPride’s organisers, has travelled to Liverpool for the march and hopes it will be used as a chance for protest for equal marriage in Ukraine.
He said: “If a queer soldier is killed in the war, their partner cannot inherit anything, they cannot receive any information if their partner is injured, or killed.
“And in Ukraine, even if you’re not fighting directly, if you’re living in any of the cities, you can be killed by rational rockets any moment. So we desperately need the right to marry.”
Image source, Josh Parry BBC News
KyivPride organiser Edward Reese is hoping the event will be a chance to protest
The free event starts at St George’s Plateau at 10:30 BST with a series of speeches.
The march will then begin around midday, travelling through the city to the waterfront.
Hundreds of LGBT+ Ukranians and their allies are expected to march carrying Ukranian flags, pride flags and pictures of LGBT+ soldiers who are on the frontline back home.
Edward added: “We are directly asking for more weapons for them, and to ask for any help that the world can provide and that Britain can provide for us.”
KyivPride was created in 2012 and is Ukraine’s largest LGBT+ event.
Over the years the march has been a target for violence, but in September 2021, just months before the invasion, organisers celebrated their first ever peaceful march.
Founder member Lenny Emson said: “The Russian invasion took our right to march away from us, but international solidarity gives us a chance to keep marching.
“We call on all the communities across the United Kingdom and Europe: please, come and support.”
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