Pride season 2023: Seattle Pride Parade, LGBTQ+ rights, A dog lover’s view, Oppression in Uganda

Issue No. 38 - June 2023

Seattle Pride Parade, Washington State, USA, 25 June 2023

Welcome to June and the Northern Hemisphere summer of 2023.

So May’s been a busy month for us at PinkUk Towers with King Charles III’s coronation as well as the kick-starting of the main Pride season in the northern part of the world. Summer is now here of sorts in the UK; it might take a little longer to show its face, but it’s been quite sunny and warm so far. In the US we have June pride month, Happy Pride season USA! You can see what we believe is the largest global listing of Pride festivals here.

On LGBTQ+ rights, PinkUk reports some interesting news that came out last month from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) on LGBTQ+ rights in Europe. They’ve just published their country rankings for Europe and parts of Asia.

Interestingly, the UK is only just above average at 53% in the ILGA rankings. So that’s not particularly great, guys. So it’s a bit like the 2023 Eurovision singing contest all over again. Why is the UK performing so poorly in these European rankings?

It seems disappointing for the UK, a country and its constituent home nations that once led these same ILGA scores and has been an international advocate for human rights more generally. What’s gone wrong, if anything actually has gone wrong at all?

Are the measures by which these scores are made correctly reflecting what is happening? Most obviously according to ILGA it seems that the UK is failing to protect Trans rights, although on other LGBTQ+ communities it has a generally good record. Read more about the rankings, an exclusive PinkUk article here, and ILGA’s rankings. We think this is a debate that will go on and on.

But whatever we say, let’s remind ourselves of places in the world LGBTQ+ rights are directly under attack. One country is Uganda in Africa, where they have passed new laws that directly persecute LGBTQ+ communities. So this month we have an article from a Uganda human rights activist.

We should also pay respects to the great American singer Tina Turner, who sadly passed away in May at the age of 83. According to the news organisation PinkNews, in 1982, Tina won huge acclaim as she led the opening ceremony at the first ever ‘Gay Games’ in San Francisco, in the US, when other artists refused to help. So huge respect to such a titan in the music and a campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights.

Finally, on a lighter note, we also have a cute article you might want to read: PinkUk founder Dave talks about being a dog-lover and how dogs exhibit almost human personalities.

Love and Pink Respect Team at PinkUk xxx

Featured venue: Villa Ragazzi, Uchaud, France

Villa Ragazzi an exclusively gay resort, South West of Nimes in Southern France.

You will appreciate setting and the unique services that this gay guesthouse offers, with everyday menu for lunch and dinner, professional massages, sauna, jacuzzi, a huge pool and a cocktails bar.  There are five bedrooms plus a loft that have their own private patio and independent access. They offer a pick-up service from all the stations and Nîmes, Montpellier and Vergèze airport.

More info about Villa Ragazzi

Would you like to see your venue here? Add your premium venue.

Featured event/pride: Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales

Abergavenny Pride takes place on Saturday the 24th June 2023.

Abergavenny Pride was established in 2019 and is now in its fourth year. 2023 will see its first pride parade that starts at 11am and will parade through the town. The festival will start after the parade finishes at 12, noon.  You are encouraged to bring your own food and drinks to this small, free pride festival, that ends at 5pm. In the evening there is a ticketed event 7:30pm to 11pm.

More info about Abergavenny Pride 2023

Prides/LGBTQ+ events

So far, for this new year, we have 281 pride festivals listed in the UK and 979 LGBTQ+ prides events in 55 countries worldwide for 2023. For 2024 we have 4 prides in the UK and 41 in 15 other countries. Keep us posted if you have a pride festival or event that needs promoting.

See all the prides/LGBTQ+ events we have in June, Add an LGBTQ+ event to PinkUK

We have 3,341 LGBTQ+ venues listed in 76 countries. Add a venue to PinkUk

Scene, recently relaunched with its fabulous new print copy. We are proud to support them.  See their latest edition. 
Scene is the top UK, free to read, online, LGBTQ+ magazine.