PinkUk's April's Newsletter Welsh miners support LGB rights

Issue No. 72 – April 2026

Pride in the Port, Newport, Wales, 5th September 2026

We missed St Davids day, so we are discussing the amazing LGBT history that we need to thank the Welsh for.

Cardiff’s (Cymru) pride parade was first held in Cardiff in 1985 by members of the Cardiff Lesbian and Gay Students group. The march had fewer than 100 marchers, now Pride Cymru parade has grown to over 12,000 participants.

As portrayed in the 2014 film Pride (based on an important part of our history), a small Welsh mining village of Onllwyn in Neath Port Talbot was the setting for the seemingly unlikely collaboration between a group of lesbian and gay activists that formed a group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) from London and a striking Welsh mining community during the long UK strike in 1984-85. It all started with a lot of hostility against the LGSM amongst the butch hard Welsh miners. Further visits were organised during the year, including a visit to the Onllwyn Miners’ Welfare Hall by some of the LGSM members in October 1984. Collimating in over 60 LGSM people by the end of the strike in March 1985, having collected £20,000 (£75,000 in today’s money) for the striking community. After a lot of hostility from the minors, support became mutual, with a large group of miners and their families from Blaenant Lodge in South Wales taking part in the 1985 London Pride march. Perhaps more importantly, the National Union of Mineworkers block vote carried a motion to support equal rights for gay men and lesbians at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth later that year. So we all here in the UK have a lot to thank this small group of determined activists for.
Read more about LGSM >>.

Love and Pink Respect PinkUk xx

Featured pride: Pride in Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth Wales

Pride in Aberystwyth 25th April 2026. A program designed with you in mind. From high-energy celebrations to quiet, accessible spaces, they are balancing "loud" and "proud" with calm, inclusive environments.

More info on Pride in Aberystwyth >>

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Prides/LGBTQ+ events

In 2026, we have 214 prides/LGBTQ+ events in the UK, and 942 globally in 50 countries.

See all the prides/LGBTQ+ events we have in April 2026,               Add an LGBTQ+ event to PinkUk

We have 3,228 LGBTQ+ venues listed in 79 countries. Add a venue to PinkUk

Featured venue: Julius Bar, 159 West 10th South, New York, USA

Julius Bar has operated in New York since the mid-19th century, known as Julius's, by around 1930. It started to attract a gay clientele by the 1960s. On April 21, 1966, an event later known as the “Sip-In” was organised by members of the Mattachine Society (an early national gay rights organisation).

More info on, Julius Bar, 159 West 10th South, New York, USA >>

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