Bursting with Newcastle Pride as full festival line-up confirmed

Newcastle Pride 2017, which is sponsored by business improvement district company NE1, will return to Newcastle’s Town Moor on 21-23 July for the main weekend of live music.

And as it’s the event’s tenth anniversary, volunteers at Northern Pride – the LGBT charity which organises Newcastle Pride – have been busy making sure this year’s line-up is the most memorable yet – having now revealed the full running order for both days.

On Saturday, 22 July, boyband and heartthrobs A1 will take to the Manchester Airport Main Stage as the main day headliners and will be joined on the day by I’m Gonna Get You star Angie Brown, Diva from Down Under Kelly Wilde, high energy artist Jason Prince, The X Factor 2013’s Lee Lambert and Czech girl group, Pink Angels.

Earlier in the day, local acts will also take to the Town Moor to perform, including Newcastle Drag Idol 2017 winner Dragon & The Whale, LGBT community choir Northern Proud Voices and singer Channy Thompson, as well as tribute acts Little Fix and Steptastic and national transgender charity, Sparkle.

Powerful performer and winner of The X Factor, Sam Bailey, will take to the stage on Sunday, 23 July as the final performance to end the Newcastle Pride weekend, with prior performances from British girl band Stooshe, N-Trance singer Kelly Llorenna – known for hit singles Set You Free and Tell It To My Heart – and Italian house music group Livin’ Joy.

They’ll be joined on the Sunday by Maltese musician and 2015 Eurovision act Amber, drag act La Voix & The Va Va Voom Boys, North East singer Melissa Pedro and tribute acts Jay Francis as George Michael and Olly meets Bublé performer, Jamie Tinkler.

Across the weekend, the Manchester Airport Main Stage will be hosted by Miss Rory of Newcastle cabaret club, Boulevard, and the three-day programme will also feature regular slots from Boulevard and Pride World Radio.

Mark Nichols, Chair of Northern Pride, said: “As it’s our tenth year of providing the largest free LGBT festival in the UK, we wanted to make sure that our line-up was full of music and performances that everyone, from children to grandparents, can enjoy.”

“This year’s theme is pride in our past, present and future, and we hope that everyone will join us at the Town Moor for a memorable weekend of celebrating and showing the world that we’re proud of who we are.”

The Newcastle Pride weekend, which begins on Friday, 21 July will also involve a LGBT 5k fun run, organised by Newcastle Frontrunners, the main Pride Parade through Newcastle city centre on Saturday, 22 July – which is sponsored by Gentoo, EDG Energy and Barclays – and the Co-operative candlelit vigil to mark the end of the Pride weekend at the Newcastle Civic Centre on Sunday, 23 July.

There will also be a host of additional activities and themed entertainment zones in operation at the Town Moor throughout the weekend, including the Eazy Street Cabaret Tent, the Powerhouse Dance Tent, the Tesco Bank Family Zone and the Steve Paske Heath Zone sponsored by Arnold Clarke and Northumbria Water, which will run alongside a fun fair and number of market stalls in the Matfen Hall Rainbow Village on both days.
Last year’s Newcastle Pride attracted more than 73,000 visitors and contributed more than £10m to the economy.

The event itself is free to attend, however a number of Virgin Money Gold Circle and VIP tickets are available for those who want to guarantee prime viewing spots for the performances on July 22 and 23.

Details for this year’s festival can be found at www.northern-pride.com or by downloading the free Northern Pride 2017 app on iOS or Android.