A number of roads in Bath will be closed today, Saturday 22 August, to accommodate the city’s annual Pride parade. Approximately twelve roads will be fully or partially closed between 11:30am and 1pm to facilitate the march, with notable closures including Grand Parade and Pulteney Bridge.
The road closures are designed to provide a safe and celebratory environment for the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, with particular emphasis this year on supporting transgender and non-binary individuals.
Phoenix Dewberry, founder of Safe Space Bath and one of the event organisers, explained the theme of this year’s Pride, “Stand Up, Show Up”: “Bath Pride is about creating a space where our community can come together, celebrate, and stand beside one another. We’re incredibly excited to welcome people back for our third year. This year, we are proudly centring solidarity with our trans and non-binary community and asking everyone in Bath to stand up and show up.”
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The festivities will begin with crowds gathering at Kingston Parade from 11:30am, followed by a march commencing from Abbey Square at midday. The parade route will pass through Stall Street, Cheap Street, Orange Grove, Grand Parade, Pulteney Bridge, Argyle Street, Great Pulteney Street, Sydney Place, before concluding at Sydney Gardens.
Following the parade, a family-friendly Pride in the Park event will take place at Sydney Gardens from 1pm. Later in the day, at 6pm, the new Late Stage will open, welcoming participants aged 18 and over.
Bath and North East Somerset Council emphasise that road closures will only be enforced when designated signs or marshals are in place. Furthermore, the usual right-turn only restriction on Upper Borough Walls will be temporarily suspended to permit vehicles to turn left onto Northgate Street.
Detailed timings and locations for Bath Pride, along with the full list of road closures as stipulated by Bath and North East Somerset’s traffic regulation order, are available through Somerset Live.