Meanwhile, the head of BBC Northern Ireland addressed the “confusion” around staff members attending Belfast Pride saying the broadcaster is not participating corporately. The theme of this year’s parade was “rights now”, to highlight the rights demanded by the LGBTQ community.Īmong the tens of thousands of participants were members of the PSNI, An Garda Siochana, Ulster Rugby, BBC Pride, Ulster Bank and Antrim GAA club. I think he is showing solidarity with Belfast Pride and along with 70,000 other people, we are sending a very powerful, positive and strong message from Belfast today.” “We were delighted to be joined by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Mr Finucane said: “This is a great day in Belfast and for the first time we are marching under the Pride flag which flies over City Hall. It is the first time a Pride flag has flown from the landmark building.īelfast’s first-ever Pride parade was in 1991. Mr Finucane helped erect the flag at City Hall early on Saturday morning. The rainbow flag was delivered down Belfast Lough on a flotilla of boats blasting their horns to cheers from onlookers on the banks on Friday evening.
On Friday the Sinn Fein councillor received the first Pride flag that was flown from City Hall. Talks have been ongoing since May after journalist and gay rights campaigner Lyra McKee was shot dead while she was reporting on riots in Londonderry in April.īelfast Lord Mayor John Finucane led the parade, which he said is one of the highlights of his year as mayor. The changes will not come into effect if Northern Ireland’s two main parties, Sinn Fein and the DUP, can reach an agreement to form a new Executive before the deadline. That could change, however, after landmark legislation was passed by the UK Parliament which will allow same-sex marriage in the region if devolution is not restored by October 21. Biggest march in Northern Ireland is not orange or green, it’s rainbow coloured.