Belfast Pride Parade 2023 set to be city’s biggest to date with more than 250 groups and agencies signed up to take part

More than 250 groups and agencies have signed up to take part in the parade, an increase of 25% since 2022.

The parade started in 1991 and over the last 30 years has grown to be the largest single parade in Northern Ireland.

The theme for Belfast Pride 2023 is Stand By Your Trans. The Belfast Pride Parade will be led by trans, non-binary and gender diverse people and their families - along with other allies and support organisations.

In 2022-2023, the PSNI reported a 24% increase in the number of transphobic hate crimes in Northern Ireland.

Kirsty Mulholland, co-chair of Belfast Pride, said the parade showed the value of Pride to the city.

"The ever-growing support for Belfast Pride and the inclusion of the diverse groups and communities from across Northern Ireland shows the important role Belfast Pride plays in making Belfast the city we all know and love," they said.

"We have an amazing day of entertainment for all the family including our live concert full of local performers in Custom House Square, our Pride Village with children's entertainment, and our annual pride market."

Ms Mulholland also said Pride aims to support the LGBTQIA+ community in fighting homophobia.

"Pride is also an important opportunity to highlight the continued inequalities experienced by our community," they said.

"At Belfast Pride we seek to platform and amplify the voices of trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse people and to share the true stories of people and families around inclusion, healthcare, and human rights.

"Belfast Pride wants to support the entire LGBTQIA+ community and our allies in opposing transphobia, biphobia, and homophobia in all its forms.

"We can all make meaningful contributions towards trans equality and together we can shape our world into one which celebrates diversity and difference away from one which fears it.

"While there is almost daily media coverage of issues related to trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse people, our community are often excluded from debates about our identities, inclusion, and rights."

John O'Doherty, co-chair of Belfast Pride, said the event was unapologetically trans inclusive.

"With over 250 groups registered for the Belfast Pride Parade, 2023 promises to be the biggest Belfast Pride Parade ever showing the ever-increasing support for LGBTQIA+ equality in Belfast and across Northern Ireland," they said.

"The theme of Belfast Pride 2023 is 'Stand By Your Trans'. Belfast Pride and the Belfast Pride festival are unapologetically trans inclusive.

"For over 50 years the international pride movement has fought to increase visibility, awareness, and support for LGBTQIA+ people while challenging hatred and intolerance in all its guises."

They added: "Transphobia, biphobia, homophobia, sexism, and misogyny are all rooted in the same ideology - and we cannot successfully end one without bringing an end to them all.

"Across the UK media and wider social media, we have seen an exponential increase in transphobia as well as homophobia, biphobia and sexism directed towards trans, non-binary, and gender- diverse people and those who support them.

"The moral panic being expressed by those who oppose the rights and inclusion of trans, non-binary and gender diverse people and the presentation of LGBTQIA+ as dangerous - is nothing more than recycled homophobia from the past."

Belfast Pride Festival 2023 was launched on July 21 at Belfast City Hall and will end on July 30.

More than 70,000 people attended the Belfast Pride Parade in 2022.