Pride parade makes its way through city

The parade
The Pride event is now in its 27th year [BBC]

The Birmingham Pride Parade has taken place, with tens of thousands of people taking part.

It is estimated more than 75,000 people walked, danced, and travelled on decorated floats through the city centre to the festival's base at Smithfield.

Artists including Natasha Bedingfield, Eurovision winner Loreen, and Birmingham singer Jamelia are performing at the two-day LGBT+ event, which is one of the biggest in the UK.

The event is now in its 27th year.

The parade
The parade attracts more than 70,000 people each year [BBC]
Two dogs walking in the parade
Everyone seemed to enjoy the festivities on Saturday [BBC]

Earlier this week, organisers challenged Birmingham City Council to "find us a home", as its current site will become unusable after next year.

After the 2025 event, Smithfield is set to make way for a multibillion-pound regeneration plan, including thousands of new homes, offices, and leisure space.

The parade
The parade makes its way to the Smithfield site [BBC]

Space for the festival had been factored in as part of the plans, but only for 3,000 to 4,000 people, which was too small and " simply not conducive for us", festival director Lawrence Barton told BBC News.

The council said it was continuing to work with the organisers and partners to help secure the future of the event.

The fesitval
The LGBT+ festival is one of the biggest in the UK [BBC]
A float
Floats are also part of the parade with YouTube actress Charity Shop Sue joining Jet2's float [BBC]

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