Leeds Pride and VisitLeeds reveal the new faces of Leeds Pride Family

After two weeks of searching for the new faces of #LeedsPrideFamily, the winning photos have been chosen.

Leeds Pride and VisitLeeds teamed up to run a photo competition to find the faces of Leeds Pride. The call out asked members of the Leeds LGBT+ community to submit photographs of themselves, family and friends demonstrating their own sense of pride.

After receiving lots of excellent entries, the team at Leeds Pride and VisitLeeds faced an extremely difficult task of choosing one overall winner and three runner up photographs.

The winning photograph was taken by Mark Douglas at last year’s Leeds Pride event. When asked what Leeds Pride means to him, Mark said: ‘For me Leeds Pride is about being a human and about valuing diversity, it's about not allowing others to make us feel shame because of who we are. It's about having a great day out.’

Giovana, one of the two girls in the photo, had come from Brazil to attend Leeds Pride: "Leeds Pride 2016 was my first experience at a Pride and it couldn't have been better. It is wonderful to have a space to celebrate love, mainly in a world where differences are seen as obstacles, not bridges. I appreciate the opportunity of being part of such a great event. Many thanks to Leeds Pride who make me feel safe and respected, no matter what."

The winning photo will be the lead image for activity promoting Leeds Pride, and Leeds as an inclusive city, and will feature on printed and online marketing material both in and out of the city for the next two years. The runner up images will be used online across Leeds Pride and VisitLeeds’ websites and social media channels.

This year’s Leeds Pride is back with a weekend of events on 5th and 6th August. The famous Leeds Pride Parade returns Sunday afternoon, taking over the city centre with a rainbow procession complete with over 60 floats and 5 hours of entertainment.

Alison Tebby, one of the runners up, had this to say: "We are so grateful that Pride exists & that we are able to show our daughters that there is so much diversity in this world. Being able to attend for the first time as a family last year made us so proud to show that there are families like us in Leeds & we are accepted, we can celebrate who we are & we don't have to hide anymore. We've come a long way since I was a child & hope the future is even better’

Janie Marie Swann, another runner up, commented: ‘I love Leeds pride as it's such a big and friendly weekend that everyone can enjoy"

Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council said:

"Leeds is a welcoming city that celebrates diversity across all our communities. Leeds Pride is one of the city’s most popular events and one that continues to go from strength to strength each year. This is a great opportunity to show the world that Leeds is an inclusive, friendly place to live, work and visit."

Head of VisitLeeds, Jennifer Young added:

‘We are very grateful to all those who submitted their photographs. The number and range of images we received really reflects the diverse LGBT+ community and the strong sense of pride here in Leeds. We look forward to using this new suite of imagery to promote the inclusive and welcoming nature of Leeds across the UK and internationally."

www.leedspride.com

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact

Hilary Farmery

Marketing and communications manager

VisitLeeds

Phone: 07891 270460

Email: Hilary.Farmery@visitleeds.gov.uk