Cumbria Pride have confirmed that this year's march in Carlisle has sadly been cancelled due to city centre works. 

The overall event, is scheduled for September 21, and will still go ahead as initially planned.

The march, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, raises awareness, and fights for equality and human rights, has become synonymous with pride events across the country. 

However, on Monday, August 26, organisers confirmed that the march will not go ahead at this year's event.

They wrote: "Sadly, due to the work taking place in our city centre, we’ve had to make the difficult decision not to hold a march this year We know, like us, a lot of you will be really disappointed to hear this, but safety must come first. We wish Cumberland Council well as they continue to work hard to improve our city centre.

"Our event will start at 12pm, at Caldew Riverside (Lower Viaduct) Car Park, celebrating 15 years of Cumbria Pride. We hope you can all join us on 21 September, entry is free for LGBT+ and allies but donations are welcome to help support our ongoing work."

The event is still set to be a big one in Carlisle next month, and will feature a wide range of performers, including Dee Licious, Darren Milby, Sh-boom, Smashby and Miss Pearl.

Following the event, there are also three after parties for over 18s to choose from in Carlisle, thanks to Walkabout, Bar 32 and Le Gall! These events are completely free for LGBT+ and allies, but venues will be accepting donations for Cumbria Pride throughout the evening.

While the council's work on Devonshire Street was completed earlier this month, it was swiftly followed by the multi-million-pound Market Square and Greenmarket Regeneration Project.

In a further explainer, Cumbria Pride added: "We are passionate about equality, therefore could not settle for a route that would not be accessible to all. We also feel any march that did not run through the city centre removes a huge part of its value. We therefore have postponed our march and are looking forward to the completion of the works, but will not be postponing the event which will go ahead as planned on September 21."

Given that the works are currently not scheduled for completion until spring 2025, those who were planning on attending may need t wait until next year's pride for the iconic march.

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