Lighthouse is incredibly proud to host the first ever Poole Pride on Saturday 8 June in celebration of our community and its many beautiful identities.
There’s an amazing programme of events with a free-to-access family-friendly daytime variety show hosted by Chris Jarvis, including the extraordinary Proud Pooches dog show, a free cabaret showcase of local LGBTQ+ performers, Poole’s first Queer Film Festival and ‘We Didn’t Know Whether It Was a Revolution or a Party’, the free exhibition of artwork inspired by the archive of pioneering gay activist John Chesterman that opens next week.
The day was due to culminate in a late-night party in our Concert Hall, but since the contracted headliner pulled out, it has not been possible to secure a suitable replacement. Despite the guarantee of a stellar support bill, it’s clear that advance sales are not sufficient to be sure of creating the fantastic experience audiences rightly expect.
Therefore, the difficult decision has been taken that the evening concert at Lighthouse cannot go ahead as planned.
But all is not lost… there will still be a party!
Since the beginning Poole Pride has enjoyed the invaluable support of Bournemouth’s well established Pride event, Bourne Free, and most of the artists booked for Poole Pride will now appear at Bourne Free’s annual event in Meyrick Park on Saturday 6 July.
Tim Colegate, Head of Programming at Lighthouse, says: “After exploring a range of line up options and different ways to make this work, we have not taken this step lightly. Poole’s first Pride event should be a building block for the future – and that’s exactly what the exhibition, film festival and free daytime programme will be.
“We are hugely grateful for the loyal support of the community, our friends and sponsors, as well as the artists, who we look forward to seeing at Bourne Free. Meanwhile, there’s still a fantastic day of family fun and entertainment that Poole can be proud of at Lighthouse on Saturday 8 June. I’ll see you there!”
Ticket holders have been contacted.
For more information about Poole Pride, please visit https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/festival/poole-pride-2024/
For more information about Bourne Free please visit https://www.bournefree.co.uk/the-festival