Did you know that the first Gay Pride march happened in
New York in 1970 as a commemoration of the Stonewall riots in 1969? This has since grown into a global phenomenon: a network of celebratory and political activism events that stand for solidarity across the worldwide gay, lesbian and transgender community.
We are really excited about
Pride in London this month on 27
th June. Also, as every year, it got us thinking about it from an event management point of view. If you find yourself wondering about these things too that is a sure sign you should be looking at a career in Event Management.
Birmingham Pride’s recent weekend festival happened over the May bank holiday and promotes itself as the largest LGBT two day festival in the UK. Pride in London has a whole week of events planned from 21
st to 28
th June, with 27
th being the date of the main celebration. As Pride events get bigger and better, they need professional event management expertise and large numbers of volunteers to ensure all goes smoothly on the day (or night or the day after!) Have a think about all the elements that need to be co-ordinated for a successful Pride event …
Theme
All parties need a strong theme to encourage everyone who gets involved, be that local businesses, performers, general attendees, sponsors a shared focus. The theme in London this year is Pride Heros, Brighton’s Pride theme is Carnival of Destiny. This needs to be something your attendees will recognise
Sponsorship & finance
As you well know, huge community events aren’t created for free. The aim of Pride events is as a huge reminder about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights and the challenges these communities have faced and still faced. Pride is also a celebration of identity and community. As anyone who has ever organised a community or charity event knows, even with the greatest of ideals behind an event you still need to find sponsors and you need to balance the budgets to gain support from the all-important local businesses and local government organisations.
Event experience
The impact of thousands of revellers marching through a city is enormous! From things to closing roads for parades, to applying for licenses for any pop up venues, bars or clubs, through to the clean-up operation afterwards, and finally to the reality of how to make sure that many people stay safe while they are participating in your event. Just imagine the amount of work and planning that must go into making sure everyone has a good time and the mood stays upbeat for the duration.
Do you love the buzz of big, exciting events that bring people together and make a real splash in the local or the global community? And do you then find yourself wondering how much work goes into making it all happen? If yes then you’re probably an Event Manager, whether you know it yet or not!
You can find out about accredited training in Event Management by downloading our course brochures, contacting Karin on [email protected] or calling 0207 183 5129.
Featured image by Guillaume Paumier used under a Creative Commons license 
