'I stood there watching it all, it was a brilliant feeling' - 2,000 see main gig at Blackpool Pride Festival

Blackpool Pride Festival celebrated its 20th anniversary year in spectacular style with some saying it one of the best ever.

For three days, the LGBQT+ festival brought colour, music and celebration to the heart of Blackpool with parades, music, enertainment and family-friendly activities attracting thousands.

Sara Cheston, chair of Blackpool Pride Festival Charity was overwhelmed by the support from Blackpool as a whole.

She said: “I stood there watching and thinking about everything we had done to put the festival together and it was such a lovely feeling to see it actually happening.

“And it was where it was, right in front of Blackpool Tower, this amazing iconic place.

“It was absolutely brilliant and really great to see so many people.”

It’s estimated 1,000 people were there on Friday evening with numbers doubling for the Saturday concert as the event gathered pace.

Sara said Heather Small, who headlined on Saturday, was unbelieveable.

“At the end of the performances after the applause the artsists mingled with the crowds.

“I didn’t expect Heather Small to do that but she did, she came off the stage and said ‘these are my people!’

“There was a child in the crowd with autism and his mum asked her to give him a wave - but she went to see him and invited them to any one of her shows.

Sara added that the support from across the resort had helped make the 20th anniversary festival such a success.

“The whole town has been right behind us this year, it’s been amazing.

“Blackpool Council has been brilliant, we had new sponsors this year including Easy Jet.”

Local businesses and attractions also got involved in a huge way with offering deals and discounts to festival-goers wearing wristbands.

Sara has already received messages asking about dates for next year’s festival.