Growing every year since its 2005 inception, National Student Pride is to make another huge leap this year and be held in London for the first time, during the weekend of 21st-23rd February…
Having already drawn students from all corners of the UK and Ireland, it is hoped that the new location will cause a further increase in attendance, due to a more central and easily accessible location.
Tom Guy, National Student Pride President, said: “More than anything, our move to London is a sign of our growth and a tribute to all the students, sponsors, supporters and friends who have helped us develop from a one-off event to an essential part of the UK’s LGBT calendar.”
Student Pride began at Oxford Brookes University in 2005 as a response to the Christian Union’s talk on ‘Homosexuality and the Bible’.
After two years there the event became associated with the NUS LGBT campaign and spent a year in Manchester before settling in Brighton for five years, where it really began to take off.
Now also in association with the University of London Union (ULU), 2014’s National Student Pride will be based centrally at the University of Westminster’s Marylebone Campus, with daytime events on Saturday 22nd being held there.
FRIDAY 21st
This year, National Student Pride are delighted to be collaborating with 4Talent to screen ‘Call me Kuchu’, a moving documentary about the LGBT situation in Uganda, on the afternoon of Friday 21st February at Channel 4 Studios. The moving documentary follows LGBT activists in Uganda fighting against issues such as the ‘Kill the Gays’ bill. Tickets are being sold for £2 with the money being donated to the Kaleidoscope Trust, who fund LGBT charities in Uganda, and there is a Q&A session afterwards.
Afterwards, registration begins at G-A-Y in the evening, and then a club night will take place at Heaven.
SATURDAY 22nd
The free daytime event kicks off the day, one of the attractions of which is a Question Time session, in association with Attitude Magazine. In previous years, debates have been attended by well-known figures such as gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, Ben Cohen, Graeme Le Saux, BBC newscaster Jane Hill, and Paris Lees, who recently topped the Independent on Sunday’s 2013 Pink List. This year Lees is scheduled to attend again, alongside Lord Waheed Ali (the first gay Muslim peer), John Amaechi OBE, and Attitude’s editor Matthew Todd.
There will be a ‘Bake Off’, hosted by The Great British Bake Off’s 2012 winner, John Whaite; live music throughout the day; and a job fair, where employers such as National Student Pride’s sponsors, EY, Clifford Chance, The Co-Operative and IB, will be exhibiting, alongside those such as BP, Channel 4 and Teach First.
Oh, and keep an eye out for the Andrew Christian underwear show, modelled by Gaydar, with undies also being given away!
The evening will feature the main club night at Heaven, along with a performance from this year’s musical headliner, Grammy Award winning Foxes, and 90’s girl group Eternal.
SUNDAY 23rd
Sunday will complete the weekend with a Rocky Horror Picture Show sing-along at the Prince Charles Cinema in Soho, for which tickets will cost £3 for wristband holders and £4.95 otherwise.
This year will also see students from the University of Warwick have their official UK launch of Sport Allies. The initiative, which grew out of the international success of the ‘Warwick Rowers’ calendar, aims to promote inclusion and challenge homophobia amongst young people.
National Student Pride is being platinum-sponsored in 2014 by EY for the fourth consecutive year. Liz Bingham, Managing Partner for People, UK & Ireland at EY, and Student Pride ambassador, said: “We are very proud to support National Student Pride for another year. At EY we are passionate about enabling people to come together in an environment where they feel included and respected. National Student Pride enables LGBT students to do just that.”
Law firm Clifford Chance are gold sponsors, with IBM, The Co-Operative and Asda as silver sponsors.
• Tickets are available from www.studentpride.co.uk/tickets. £5 for weekend wristbands and free for a queue-jump daytime ticket, both of which are available for anyone to purchase.
• Heaven, under the Arches, Villiers Street, Charing Cross, WC2N 6NG.
