Newcastle Northern Pride event closes early due to bad weather

Organisers of Newcastle’s Northern Pride have been forced to end the annual LGBTQIA+ event early due to ‘adverse weather.’The event was taking place at Exhibition Park this weekend but a post to social media on Sunday afternoon confirmed heavy rain has caused the festival site to be unsafe.

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The statement reads: “Northern Pride Festival Now Closed.

“Unfortunately due to adverse weather conditions, and against all efforts of the team. We’ve had to make the extremely difficult decision to close the festival site.

“We need to ensure pride is safe and accessible for all. After making changes to the site to ensure most of the festival site could open, the continuation of heavy rain has now made the site unsafe.

“We’re also aware that access to the site from Exhibition Park has become hazardous with flooding under the bridge.

“Seeing over 15,000 LGBTQIA+ people and allies join us on the march and many more on the festival site, brave the weather has been heartwarming and we’re incredibly grateful for all the support.

“We’ll be in touch during the week with ticket holders. Please bare with us as we manage the onsite situation as our priority now focuses on keeping everyone safe.

“The Northern Pride team would like to thank our community, allies, creatives, performers, staff, contractors and volunteers for their support this weekend.”