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Pride 2022: 11 events to celebrate during Pride Month and beyond
Celebrate Pride all year round with a jam-packed calendar filled with the very best of LGBTQ+ artists and performers
We may be bidding farewell to Pride Month, but thankfully that doesn’t mean an end to the celebrations. From July onwards, there’s no shortage of Pride Festivals LGBTQ+ trailblazers and gloriously out events to keep the party going. We’ve pulled together just a few of our highlights but check out our Pride Guide for even more.
1. Culture Club
The 80s pop giants were Pride heroes before it even had a name, with massive hits including ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’ and ‘Karma Chameleon’. The eternally fabulous Boy George takes his band and their chart-topping back catalogue on the road this July, including stops at Ardingly and Reading.
2. Kae Tempest
Few people have had as resounding a cultural impact as poet, rapper, and novelist Kae Tempest. Their critically acclaimed new LP The Line Is A Curve has continued their perpetual ascent to National Treasure status. Don’t miss them at Latitude this July.
3. Elton John
Speaking of National Treasures, Elton John earned that title decades ago but continues to remind us why. He’s had more hits than you can shake a glittery baseball bat at, but equally has changed countless lives through his AIDS charity. His Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour rolls on this year, the lengthy list of shows across the UK suggesting he doesn’t want to say goodbye any more than we want him to.
4. Manchester Pride Festival
Manchester Pride is as loud and proud a celebration as you’ll get, turning the city into a rainbow of fun for four wonderful days in August. Events include a huge parade, a candlelit vigil, Family Pride, Youth Pride and a human rights forum and performances include Melanie C, Nadine Coyle, Charity Shop Sue and Bimini.
5. Years & Years
Actor Olly Alexander broke hearts the world over in the astounding series It’s A Sin but he’s been back in party mode this summer with his band Years & Years. They were a resounding highlight at Glasto in June and they’re rolling on into Wilderness in August. Promises to be unmissable.
6. RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Tour
There’s drag and there’s drag royalty and RuPaul’s crew are definitely the latter. Werq The World will see Asia O’Hara, Kameron Michaels, Vanessa Vanjie and Yvie Oddly sashay through time with help from Plastique Tiara and more stars from the US and UK series.
7. Calum Scott
Calum Scott has become a fixture in the charts since winning legions of fans with his performance of Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’ on Britain’s Got Talent in 2016. He’s back on the road this October in support of his recently released second album Bridges.
8. Rina Sawayama
Rina Sawayama has blown through pop music like a gale, wowing critics and fans alike with her genre-defying alt-pop. R&B one minute, nu-metal the next, Rina’s songs are constantly questioning and constantly anthemic. Don’t miss her at Latitude festival in July before her own massive headline tour kicks off in October.
9. Tove Lo
Tove Lo’s address book must read like a who’s who of pop. She’s collaborated with everyone from Charli XCX to Coldplay and written songs for Lorde and Ellie Goulding. Her own singles have proved her remarkable talent in her own right, including the excellent ‘How Long?’ from era-defining series Euphoria. Tove plays Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London, kicking off from the end of October.
10. MUNA
Prepare to hear MUNA everywhere this summer as their brilliant third album picks up speed. Generating as much buzz as a vibrator in a bee hive, the trio bring their own brand of queer pop to venues throughout the UK this autumn.
11. Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys defined the 80s gay experience in so many ways, from their icy cool electro-pop to Neil Tennant’s piercingly precise lyrics. Introducing the song ‘Being Boring’ on Desert Island Discs back in 2007, George Michael said: “Nobody wants to hear frightening, terrifying songs about AIDS, but if they’re gay and they’ve lost friends they do want to hear those people remembered and honored. Neil’s work did that beautifully.” The duo continue to innovate and impress and will take their always amazing live show on tour in June 2023.
Celebrate Pride all summer long with more great events happening across the UK. Explore some of them on our Pride Guide.
