Forty years ago, Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to hold office in any US city, campaigned for a positive image of hope for young gay people.
Gilbert Baker rose to the challenge, creating the Pride Flag we recognise today, the original of which still flies over The Castro in San Francisco.
He stitched together eight colours, an Octave of Hope; hot pink for sexuality; red for life; orange for healing; green for nature; turquoise blue for art; indigo for harmony and violet for spirit – creating a huge banner that spoke volumes for LGBT+ communities all over the world!
To celebrate this great LGBT+ icon, Actually Gay Men’s Chorus will perform True Colours, their Pride 2018 celebration concert, where they will present their own Octave of Hope.
Musical Director, Samuel Cousins, has compiled a stunning repertoire to showcase Actually Gay Men’s Chorus’ extreme diversity of colour through music. Expect a rollercoaster of emotions, dynamics and drama, light and shade, through both lyrics and the musical arrangements.
Sam said: “This show is all about being yourself and having the ability and strength to show your TRUE COLOURS. Audience members are encouraged to join the celebration by wearing the colours of the Pride Flag.
Actually Gay Men’s Chorus will be joined by Kara Van Park, a powerhouse of drag and audience favourite.
Music will be specially arranged for the show by Samuel Cousins, Simon Gray and Jason Pimblett, amongst others, creating an event not to miss!
The members’ chosen charity for 2018 is The Sussex Beacon , and Actually Gay Men’s Chorus is proud that TRUE COLOURS will also contribute to their fundraising achievements this year.
The Sussex Beacon charity offers specialist care and support for men, women and families living with HIV. Open every day of the year, The Sussex Beacon helps people manage with the everyday realities of living with this life-long condition that has no cure.
Julie Rawcliffe of The Sussex Beacon said:“Every year, we need to raise over two million pounds to continue providing these vital services to people living with HIV. It is only through the generosity of people like you that we are able to continue our work.”
A delegation of Lord Cashman, Peter Tatchell and Rachel Barnes, great-niece of Alan Turing hand compensation letter to 10 Downing Street.
L-R: Stephen Close, Peter Tatchell, Rachel Barnes and Lord Michael Cashman
The Prime Minister, Theresa May, is being urged to “compensate living men who were convicted under discriminatory, anti-gay laws – both before and after 1967 – in instances where their behaviour is now no longer a crime.”
Rachel Barnes, the great-niece of Alan Turing, Lord Michael Cashman, Peter Tatchell and Stephen Close, who suffered for three decades after being convicted of a consenting gay offence in 1983 delivered the compensation request letter to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street yesterday (June 26).
Of the men who were convicted prior to, and following, the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967, an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 are still alive.
Rachel Barnes, Alan Turing’s great niece, said: “I am sure my great-uncle would want gay men who suffered like he did to receive compensation. They deserve recompense for unjust imprisonment and fines, physical hardship, mental trauma and often impoverishment. No money can ever reverse lost and damaged lives but as a symbolic gesture compensation is important and the right thing to do.”
Stephen Closeconvicted, aged 20, of consenting sex with another soldier in 1983 while in the Royal Fusiliers. said: “I was sentenced to six months in a military prison. I lost my job, home, income and pension. My homosexual conviction and ‘discharge with disgrace’ made it very difficult to get another job. I was near unemployable and was forced to do mediocre, low-paid jobs for three decades years. It caused me severe depression and ruined my life.”
Lord Michael Cashman added: “The government must now consider compensating those whose lives and careers were blighted and, in some cases, they still are.”
Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, said: “These men deserve an apology and compensation for the terrible persecution they suffered. Many were jailed and nearly all endured devastating knock-on consequences. They often lost their jobs and became near unemployable and semi-destitute because of the stigma associated with having a conviction for a homosexual offence. Some experienced the break-up of their marriages and lost custody and access to their children. Families and friends disowned them and they were abused and sometimes assaulted in the street. Many descended into a downward spiral of depression, alcoholism, mental illness and suicide or attempted suicide. The psychological and emotional scars are devastating and long-lasting. That’s why they need and deserve state compensation.”
To read Peter Tatchell’s comprehensive, detailed exposure of the intensified police and judicial persecution of gay and bisexual men after 1967, click here:
This fourteen strong group of Columbian acrobats bring the excitement and flavour of nightlife in Bogota to the South Bank with their spectacular tricks in this fast moving extravaganza of human skill played out to a rap/reggae influenced sound track. It is quite simply breathtaking!
THERE are so many exciting aspects to Circolombia which is headlining at the Underbelly Festival on London’s Southbank that makes this evening out a remarkable experience through and through. There is variety and surprise – all garnished with immense talent and obvious dedication. The show moves seamlessly from one jaw dropping moment to the next, building up to a breathtaking climax as the cast mix song, dance, acrobatics and even romance into an hour of enrapture. It is captivating.
The levels of skill on display make it almost unfair to single out any performance for special mention, however for me highlights included Cristian Rincon and Laura Martinez who perform a duo routine while Rincon is suspended by only the back of his head and Julia Aja, a human pendulum, performs outstanding feats of courage while exhibiting nerves of steel.
You will gasp in awe as these exotic performers take you beyond the conceivable.
In a wonderfully intimate theatre space which is literally underground, we meet Guy – a self-confessed obese young man who spends his life as a graphic designer, gamer and binge eater.
PROBLEM IS: Guy, played with wonderful angst by Brendan Matthew, wants to be thin and get a boyfriend.
This Grindr-age musical by the emerging talents of Leoe Mercer and Stephen Hyde, is about unrequited love, deceit, betrayal, friendships made and lost, but ultimately about the resilience of the human spirit.
With fast-paced pop and rap songs it races through its 90 minutes, carrying us along its many twists and turns, The interaction between Guy and the three other actors who play a variety of characters is truly electric.
When Guy joins a local Manchester gym he finds love among the self-absorbed customers without recognising the fact and the rest of the show turns around his many moods but also his growing self-awareness. The irony is the unconscious damage he does to those around him.
His biggest sin is not his obesity but his refusal to accept he is who he is. By ‘cat fishing’ – using his best friend’s photo on his Grindr profile, he makes a tragic error that it takes all the show to resolve.
As his gay gym buddy colleagues, the super-fit actor/singer/dancers Sean Miley-Moore, Adam Braidley and Steve Banks, create truly likeable, and realistically flawed characters each with very different and often challenging personalities.
Miley-Moore, an X Factor finalist, shines as the Asian obstetrician Arizona, who is also secretly desperate for love. The storyline shows us that all four characters are actually equally unhappy with their body shapes – Guy for obvious reasons – but the others also realise they are obsessed with being fit and toned to the point of damaging their health for their perfect Grindr profile.
This Manchester-based theatre group Leoe and Hyde has a great future ahead of it.
There are one or two inconsistencies in the plot line between Guy and best friend Tyler but these just need a bit of cutting and pasting.
Brendan Matthew puts in a five-star performance and his singing voice is a delight to hear despite all his sorrowfulness – and when he finds love in an unexpected place we are happy for him.
The two writers say they want to develop gay themes related to the world of the internet. Though this may seem a narrow field to develop Leoe and Hyde have a very bright musical theatre future ahead of them.
Guy runs at the Bunker Theatre, Southwark Sty, London on various dates until July 7, then tours to Buxton, Birmingham and Manchester.
My son Paddy was 21 years old, when he died of a GBL overdose in March this year. In a stranger’s house. Early in the morning. He was born in Eastbourne and died in Brighton.
IT’S fair to say that Paddy was hedonistic and lived to party. Highly intelligent and sociable, he was the centre of his many groups of friends, in Brighton, Sheffield, Hull and Eastbourne.
I’m going to use the present tense from now on, because I believe Paddy is still with us.
He is the eldest of triplet boys. Paddy, Tom and Eóin are all gifted musically and like Paddy, love drum and bass. The boys are privileged … private school education, no money problems, cars and motorbikes to hand, successful at their A level studies, sports, music, European travel and many good friends.
What’s not to like with the world?
Well … my family have a history of drug and alcohol abuse. My brother died in his 40s and our extended family, without exception, are heavy drinkers. Some people like music, some like music a lot but we live it. It grabs our souls and defines the backdrop to our lives. For my brother, it was heavy rock and concerts. For Paddy it’s drum and bass, clubs and festivals.
And there’s the problem. Drug culture is intimately connected with the music scenes of both generations. I would go further. For some, who are perhaps especially attracted to the music, the subculture takes over. Is it just the music? I don’t think so, but it acts as a gateway to other things.
We know about gateway drugs of course, but most young people don’t succumb to addiction. It depends on their susceptibility … genetics, support environment, group norms and common sense. So, a relatively small fraction of each generation will spiral down within a lifestyle that can be lethal. The vast majority, try the life for a while, it doesn’t take over and later on, they are in control of their lives. Subsequent drug use (if any), is controlled and they’re in charge, not the drugs.
Back to Paddy. His drugs of choice were cannabis, ketamine and MDMA during his mid to late teenage years. Much, much more than his brothers. At university, even more of the same drugs plus cocaine and amphetamines. Then Xanax took over, another gateway drug I think. From Xanax, a drug prescribed to treat anxiety and panic disorders, his life spiralled down in a frighteningly short time. Xanax not only gives the ‘drug effect’ but impairs long-term thinking, planning and risk assessment. Unsurprisingly, crystal meth, methadone and GBL followed.
Shortly before his death, Paddy decided that enough was enough and he asked for help. I believe that he witnessed a friend’s near fatal GBL overdose. Sadly, psychiatric care and a clinical psychologist were too little too late and frankly, I think the rehab. program scared him. He turned up high for an appointment and less than 12 hours later was dead.
Paddy died of a cardiac arrest in a stranger’s house. His brain died on the Wednesday but the paramedics were able to restart his heart. The rest of him died two days later.
Paddy was not a naïve, inexperienced drug user and had great insight of dosage, frequency of use and type of drug to take. So, what happened? Was his death simply the inexorable conclusion to his high-risk lifestyle? I think not.
It’s no exaggeration to say that hundreds of young men are dying each year, due to their use of this drug, GBL. Why? Simply because it’s so easy to overdose on. Why? Here’s what’s different about GBL. The dose needed to kill is very close to the dose needed to work for its desired effect. Other drugs are not like this. Yes, you can overdose on them but they are much less likely to kill and a fatal dose can be orders of magnitude greater than the effect dose.
Some might say that Paddy was responsible for his choices and I agree. He arrogantly thought he was invincible. His fatal mistake was to have no knowledge of GBL pharmacokinetics and dynamics. Does anyone?
I can hear him saying; “it’s only a class C drug so it must be safe.” “I’ve taken other drugs in excess, so I’ll be OK doubling up with this one too.”
I haven’t mentioned his sexuality yet, because it should not be relevant. He’s gay and so is one of his brothers. But it is relevant. Why? Because, at least for now, GBL is predominantly used by gay men.
I didn’t want my son to die and I’m crying as I type this but what will I do about it?
I’m thinking of a petition on change.org … a few hundred thousand signatures are needed for this issue to be raised in parliament. I’ll talk to my MP. I’ll go around our local schools and talk about drug use and question what LGBT support might be needed.
Would you like to help me?
Finally, what should the issue be? – Include GBL in routine toxicology. If so, there will be additional expense.
However, we’re likely missing an epidemic because we’re not looking. It’s frustrating to know that the last hard data was from a limited research project by Imperial College, London in 2015.
Lets campaign to make GBL a class A substance. It’s debatable whether the drug classification system is working and argument about decriminalising drugs will complicate the issue. However, as a first step, this might be worthwhile.
To find the right clinic for you or book an appointment at SHAC (Brighton & Hove Sexual Health and Contraception Service), visit: www.brightonsexualhealth.com or call 01273 242091.
If you’re looking for help with your drug or alcohol use, or would like advice on accessing one-to-one sexual health support, email:
Or for Eastbourne based East Sussex Drug & Alcohol Service call 03003038160.
Maybe you just want to share your experiences or ideas about how best to tackle this unfolding epidemic direct with Paddy’s father, if so email: lovepaddybloor@btinternet.com
After six months settling into his new role as Sussex Beacon CEO, James Ledward checks on Bill Puddicombe’s progress to date.
BILL’S first job in the voluntary sector was in 1980, as a care assistant for what was then called the Church of England Children’s Society. He has spent most of the intervening years with a mixture of paid and unpaid roles in charities as diverse as Mencap and the Schoolmistresses and Governesses Benevolent Institution.
“I’ve been here at the Sussex Beacon since the beginning of 2018 and I’m loving it,”he says. “There are challenges and some tough decision to make but it’s a real privilege to be working for this important and necessary service.”
Bill’s career includes spells as Chief Executive at Phoenix Futures, the national drug and alcohol treatment charity, and Equinox Care, who are active in Brighton as part of the Pavilions treatment service for addictions.
He is currently a trustee of four other charities including Toucan, an employment service for people with learning disabilities, and Magalen Community Services, a small charity that works with a community in eastern Uganda.
“The Beacon is a great example of how a local charity can serve a community”,he says,“I’m new to Brighton and it’s inspiring to see how people have got behind the Beacon and recognise it for the great work that goes on here”.
Since arriving at the Sussex Beacon Bill has been concerned that there is a gap between public ideas about HIV and the reality for many HIV positive people.
He says: “There seems to be a narrative that everything is fine now, HIV is no longer a problem and antiretroviral drugs have made everything OK. It’s true that things have improved enormously but there are still many people with significant, life changing problems resulting from their HIV status. That’s the group that needs the services that we provide.”
What is the toughest decision you have made since arriving at the Beacon? “Making the decision to make someone redundant is always a tough. Sometimes, as with this decision, it cannot be avoided.
“Many of the other decisions made themselves. Once I had understood the importance of the in-patient services then the need for their preservation became clear. Seeing the very ill people who stay with us every night of the year made me realise just what would be missed without the Beacon to provide the essential specialist care that they need.”
Have you come up with a plan to ensure the future of the charity? “We have a plan in place for the next three years, which will ensure that the Beacon is a sustainable organisation, providing a combination of hospital and health management services as we do now.
“We will make sure that the services we provide are the right ones for the people who need them and spend time talking to current and potential patients and clients to make sure we understand what is needed.
“We will examine the expenses of the charity, making sure that we only spend what is needed on anything other than direct services to patients and clients.”
“We are also doing much more to recognise the place that the community has in the life of the Beacon, through volunteering in so many ways and through the invaluable fundraising that goes on throughout the year. Committed volunteers are at the heart of the Beacon.”
What are you doing to increase your bed occupancy? “This will be most important if we are to keep all the services going. Firstly, we are making sure that we remind the NHS across Sussex that we are here and always willing to take a referral. We have spent some time defining the different kinds of care that people living with HIV need during their stay with us and made sure that it is in front of GPs, Consultants, specialist Nurses and so on.
“Secondly, we plan to spread our net a little wider and look for a small number of referrals from outside the County. This will allow us to better use the resources available. For this we should bring in some extra funding that will go toward keeping the Beacon available for Sussex.”
“We know these plans will not be easy to accomplish. The Sussex Beacon has great staff, fantastic volunteers and supporters and a group of people living with HIV who need the services we provide. This is an exciting time for all of us.”
When Richard Gray, talks about LGBT+ tourism, people in the industry tend to sit up and listen.
HIS appointment as Vice President of the LGBT+ division of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) in 2012 was an industry first and six years on Fort Lauderdale has firmly established itself as the trail blazing holiday destination for LGBT+ tourists from all over the world, boosting the local economy every year to the tune of $1.5 billion.
Richard, an investment New York banker in the early 80s, found himself burned out and wanted something different in his life to stimulate him. He constantly travelled for work, but chose never to stay at gay establishments because they were just not up to scratch. He identified an opening in the market for a superior gay hotel and in 1991 launched the multi award-winning Royal Palms Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, a clothing optional resort that achieved legendary status with LGBT+ travellers and personalities for the next 20 years.
On arrival in Fort Lauderdale, he proceeded to involve himself in the local tourism drive, and among his many achievements helped IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association) relocate to Fort Lauderdale. In 1995 he approached the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB with a business plan to market Greater Fort Lauderdale as a destination for LGBT+ travellers. In 1996 they started with a $35,000 marketing budget and by 2000 Fort Lauderdale boasted twenty gay resorts offering a wide range of options to the huge numbers of LGBT+ tourists that flocked to the city. Today the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB LGBT+ division has a marketing budget of a million dollars.
In 2014 Richard made a conscious decision to champion the Transgender Communities and Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB commissioned its own survey called Welcoming the Transgender Traveller. Among the headline findings the survey identified physical violence and verbal harassment as the top concerns for transgender travellers, especially regarding the safe and comfortable use of public facilities. It highlighted that 62% of trans people on holiday travel alone, but unlike the LGB market, transgender travellers tend to be budget travellers.
In 2015 Richard persuaded the organisers of the Southern Comfort Transgender Conference which had taken place annually since 1991 to relocate from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale then in 2017 the city became the world’s first holiday destination to use transgender models in a global marketing and advertising campaign, “to showcase the destination’s image as an authentic, diverse and inclusive.”
This year the Southern Comfort Conference will take place in the luxurious surroundings of the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas from September 6-8 with registration packages starting from just $50.
When Richard was first appointed Vice President of the Great Fort Lauderdale CVB LGBT+ Division in 2012 he told the media: “The sands of Fort Lauderdale run through my veins and I’ve always wanted to be a part of the community since I first moved here more than 20 years ago. Greater Fort Lauderdale has become the top GLBT destination in Florida. My role is not to rest on our laurels and success, but to grow this affluent market even more.” Six years I asked Richard how he thinks he’s doing.
Why and how did you decide to target the trans communities?“The Transgender Community presents a unique and complex challenge to the society that we all live in. It is much harder for Trans people to come out and be accepted by their family, friends and employers due to lack of knowledge and understanding in what it means to be a Transgender person. Education is key in being able to understand Trans people followed by acceptance and respect.
“I’m an avid runner and one day was running along the beach. I said to myself Richard, you say LGBT, but what is the T? The Forgotten T. I knew that T stood for Transgender, but truthfully I did not understand what Transgender really meant or how complicated it was.
“To launch a marketing campaign targeted at Transgender people we needed to better understand Transgender people as well as know their travel habits, so we launched the first ever Transgender Travel Survey with Community Marketing & Insights in San Francisco. We had almost 800 Transgender respondents from 50 States across the USA.
What we learned from the survey enabled us to launch ‘Where Happy Meets Go Lucky’, making Fort Lauderdale the first ever destination in the world to launch a campaign targeted solely at Transgender travellers. Then in 2017, on New Years Eve in Times Square in New York City we made history and became the worlds first destination to launch a mainstream marketing campaign that featured Transgender, lesbian, gay and yes, straight people.
On September 6-8, 2018, the Southern Comfort Transgender Conference will be held once again at the Riverside Hotel located in the heart of Las Olas Boulevard. This is a very important conference for us to host and I am so proud to be their host city.”
How do you want to see developments going forward?“Diversity is a meandering journey and love knows no boundaries. It is absolutely critical for all of us to use our own personal platforms to maintain the rhythm and drumbeat for advocacy, global rights, equality and inclusion. Inclusion is making the mix work and it is a continual work in progress.
“The hospitality industry is the first to feel the impacts of unrest and uncertainty in the world. The traveling public looks for value and safety when making their travel decisions. Our industry is facing this challenge more than ever in the United States under our current administration in Washington.
“In Greater Fort Lauderdale, we are making sure we let the traveling public across the world understand that WE have an open-heart and open-door policy to ALL people across the world, regardless of the colour of their skin, what religion they believe in, who they choose to love or how they choose to identify.
“We want them to enjoy our beaches, shop in our stores, eat in our restaurants and stay in our hotels. We want to make sure that our message gets through despite much of the negative clutter that they see on their nightly news every day.
“On September 27, World Tourism Day, we released a beautifully crafted inclusive diverse video and supporting marketing campaign #GreaterTogether that pushes back on negative perceptions that unfortunately seem to grow with every news cycle and shows who WE are as a destination. We are all one. We are all Welcome. We are all Greater Together.
What does diversity mean to you?“Diversity is in our DNA. This is one of my daily mantras: Visibility creates awareness. Awareness leads to acceptance. And widespread acceptance ends discrimination. You can’t change hearts, minds and attitudes if you are invisible. Visibility advances acceptance…..and I never intend to be invisible. Rest assured Greater Fort Lauderdale will always push the envelope.”
“I look at it like this. Diversity is being invited to the dance. Inclusion is being asked to dance. I see Greater Fort Lauderdale, as a destination where everyone feels they are being asked to dance.”
Local organisations feature in final list of nominations for National Diversity Awards (NDAs) 2018.
BRIGHTON based not for profit community radio station RadioReverb, My Genderation an ongoing film project focusing on trans lives and trans experiences with content created by trans people for trans people and MenTalkHealth the LGBT mental health charity make the final list of nominations for the NDAs 2018.
A total of 24,584 people were nominated this year, the results are finally in, with 124 nominees being recognised for their various achievements nationwide.
Community organisations and role models from across the UK will head north to Liverpool Anglican Cathedral on September 14 to witness the countries 2018 winners being crowned the best of British diversity.
Amongst those being honoured are freedom fighters, domestic violence campaigners and trans rights activists, all of whom work tirelessly to combat injustice and discrimination in very different ways.
Designed to highlight the country’s most inspirational and selfless people, the NDA’s continue to gain endorsements from high profile figures such as Stephen Fry, Sir Lenny Henry CBE and Graham Norton.
Ana Matronic
Radio 2 presenter and Scissor Sister favourite Ana Matronic will host this year’s ceremony alongside television presenter Brian Dowling.
Ana said:“I’m delighted to be hosting the 2018 National Diversity Awards in Liverpool for the second year in a row. Last year’s event was a true celebration of diversity across every area and nothing gives me greater pleasure than being able to be a part of this prestigious event! I can’t wait to meet all of the nominees and winners! Liverpool, I’ll see you in September”.
Previous winners include Huddersfield based Disability Theatre Group Shabang!, disabled body builder James Sutliff and transgender support charity Mermaids.
Paul Sesay
Paul Sesay, Founder and CEO of the National Diversity Awards said:“An overwhelming amount of nominations and votes were received this year, and I know our judging panel had an incredibly difficult task of whittling down the nominees to create an outstanding shortlist.
“So many heartfelt testimonies really showcased how these people and organisations are having a profound impact on the lives of others, and I applaud them for their dedication to each specific cause. Congratulations to all of our shortlisted nominees, it is a privilege to recognise your bravery, resilience and courage and I am honoured to share this with the nation. I look forward to congratulating you in person in September”.
The full list of shortlisted nominees is as follows:
Positive Role Model Age: Sally Kingdon, Callum Carr, Anaya Kamara, James Middlehurst, Jade Sutton, Abdul-Karim Adbullah, Siena Castellon, Ricky Kandohla
Positive Role Model Disability: Rachel Jury, Dr Robert Gurney, Lorna Fillingham, Nana Marfo, Melissa Johns, Cameron Osburn, Sophie Ward, Stuart Thompson
Positive Role Model Gender: Katie Kelleher, Leanne Pero, Alex Storer, Anna Smith Higgs, Rachael Pearson, Julie Baker, Georgia Powell, Gill Leno
Positive Role Model LGBT: Tracy O’Hara, Shaun Dellenty, Khakan Qureshi, Jason Jones, Abbey Kiwanuka, Virginie Assal,Rebecca Tallon De Havilland, Sgt Guy Lowe-Barrow
Positive Role Model Race, Faith Religion: Naomi Grant, Nilesh Dosa, Aba Graham, Mothiur Rahman, Salma Bi, Billy Yu-Lok Ng, Manraj Othi, Robert Kasanga
Community Organisation Age: Merseyside Scouts, The Renewal Trust, Opening Doors London, Manchester Cares, Strength Within Me (S.W.I.M) Foundation, Arran Youth Foundations, Birmingham Youth Sports Academy (BYSA), Manchester Cares, Buddy Up
Community Organisation Disability: Hypo Hounds, SupERkids, ADHD Foundation, Autism Rocks, Spinal Unit Recreational Fund, Zebedee Management, The Barrie Wells Trust, Fightback4Justice
Community Organisation Gender: Colouring Outside the Lines, Body Positive, MenTalkHealth, WomenCentre, All Women’s Network, The SAFE project, Action Breaks Silence, Savera UK
Community Organisation LGBT: My Genderation, Breakout Youth, The Proud Trust, Safe Haven, SAIL NI, AZ Magazine, KCC Live, Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre
Community Organisation Race, Faith, Religion: 3FF, KeshetUK, Mary Seacole House, Rosetta Arts, Black History Walks, Chineke! Foundation, Kick It Out, Wirral Change
Community Organisation Multi Strand: RJC Dance, iichild, Active Recovery, Feed the Homeless, Grant a Smile, St. Johns Centre, Barton Peveril Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group, Radio Reverb
Entrepreneur of Excellence: Rossie Stone, Andrew Slorance, Jullian Kowalchuk, Geoff Holt MBE, Chris Jelev, Ndu Uchea, Jude Philip, Tanya Laird
Diverse Company: Morgan Sindall, Yorkshire Water, LM-JV, West Yorkshire Police, Cheshire Constabulary, Reed Smith LLP, Touchstone, TransPennine Express, Gateshead College, Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Celebrity of the Year: John Bishop, Anna Friel, Sir Trevor McDonald OBE, June Sarpong MBE, Warwick Davis, Fearne Cotton, Sir Lenny Henry CBE, Clare Balding OBE, Lee Ridley AKA Lost Voice Guy, Thandie Newton
Lifetime Achiever: Anne Ross, Tony Carlisle, Dionne Johnson, Alan Bell, Maggie Georgopoulos, Lewis Turner, Juney Muhammad, Anthony Durrant MBE JP
Winners will be announced at The National Diversity Awards, a black tie and dinner event in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral on September 14, 2018 from 6.15pm.
To book tickets starting at £175 plus VAT per person, click here:
Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival announce a match fund grant of up to £250,000 from The Roddick Foundation in support of its £21.2 million project to redevelop the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre.
THE PLEDGE offers to double the impact of the organisation’s ‘Build Brighton Dome’ Community Appeal by matching public donations pound for pound.
The major refurbishment – the first phase of a wider project to restore and reunite the Royal Pavilion Estate – has already attracted significant donations from the National Lottery through Arts Council England (ACE) and Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), and the Coast to Capital Local Growth fund, as well as commitments from the city council, charitable trusts and individual patrons.
Reviving long-lost heritage features and creating new state-of-the-art facilities, key developments include a magnificent Corn Exchange viewing gallery, a dedicated creative space for workshops and rehearsals, and a new street-facing café opening out onto New Road.
The Roddick Foundation grant will provide a significant boost to the organisation’s ‘Build Brighton Dome’ Community Appeal, which aims to reach out to the local communities as well as visitors to the city to help complete the transformational project. With a public fundraising target of £250,000, the pledge has the potential to double its impact, by offering to match donations pound for pound.
Co-founded by Anita & Gordon Roddick in 1997, the Roddick Foundation is an independent organisation dedicated to supporting visionary organisations and individuals who show leadership and results in making this a more just and kind world.
Dame Anita Roddick, a Brighton businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner, who is best known as the co-founder of The Body Shop was a trustee of Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival before her passing in 2007.
The Trustees of The Roddick Foundation said:“We recognise that Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival plays a vital role in developing culture in the city and in the local community of Brighton and Hove. We are delighted to have agreed a contribution of up to £250,000 towards the campaign to redevelop this historic venue. The funds will be put towards the ‘Build Brighton Dome’ appeal and we know Anita would have welcomed this legacy of adventure for artists and the local community.”
Andrew Comben
Andrew Comben, Chief Executive Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival added:“We are hugely grateful to The Roddick Foundation for their support of our city, our role within it, and this campaign. Anita and The Roddick Foundation have enabled the organisation to take creative risks through the relationship we have enjoyed to date and this renewed endorsement is fantastic. The refurbishment of these historic buildings will benefit thousands of lives in our city and beyond. Our audience, our artists, the young people and children we work with and local businesses will benefit immensely from the new spaces and facilities.”
Cllr Alan Robins
Cllr Alan Robins, Chair of Brighton & Hove City Council’s Tourism, Development & Culture committee, said:“This is brilliant news for the Brighton Dome appeal and a huge step towards reaching the restoration goals for one of our city’s most beautiful heritage buildings. We’re extremely lucky that arts and culture is such a celebrated part of our city’s make-up and to have this support is crucial to enhancing and protecting it for generations to come.”
The works at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre are the first phase of a wider project to re-affirm Brighton’s Royal Pavilion Estate as a key cultural destination by equipping it for a sustainable future.
The longer-term vision aims to reunite the historic Estate created by George IV in the early 19th century to create a centre for heritage, culture and the performing arts which reflects the unique spirit of Brighton. The project will develop, deepen and broaden the cultural tourism offer of Brighton & Hove and significantly contribute to the city’s cultural and economic wellbeing.
For more information about the project, click here:
To donate to the Build Brighton Dome Community Appeal, click here:
Gay Games Ambassador Chris Morgan wins European Championship Gold in Nancy, France in June 2018.
AFTER a long period of injury and illness, Chris has returned from the GPC European Powerlifting Championships in Nancy, France with a Gold Medal in the Masters 2, Unequipped Deadlift setting a new British record at 235 kilos at a bodyweight of the 88.8 kilos class (90 Kilo Class).
Chris will now arrive at the Gay Games in Paris this summer as a current European and World Champion.
Speaking about the recent European Championships, Chris said: “It’s wonderful to be back in the Great Britain Team representing my country again, this time winning medals and setting records in Masters categories. Powerlifting as a sport has always helped with my own personal evolution, so to be back after a short career break feels wonderful”.
“What Powerlifting means to me has changed over this last few years, with me starting to enjoy the sport again thanks to the members of GPC-GB, I feel very grateful to have this opportunity. After so many injuries over these last few years, it feels wonderful to be back in contention for medals and records.
“I’m very much looking forward to representing the Federation of Gay Games in Paris as one of their Global Ambassadors, helping them to promote their Scholarship programme and assisting them to deliver the message of – Participation, Inclusion, Personal Best”.
Chris has been one of the UK’s leading openly gay athletes since starting his Powerlifting career at the Gay Games in Amsterdam in 1998. During his eighteen year career he has represented England and Great Britain a total of twenty-six times, winning a total of twenty-eight international medals.
He has been World Champion nine times, European Champion four times, British Champion eighteen times and has won six Gay Games gold medals.
From 2010 to 2015, he was the overall Best Lifter six times at the British Deadlift Championships consecutively and in 2011 was the overall Best Lifter at the European Deadlift Championships. He is the holder of several World and British records in the Deadlift and is a qualified International Category Referee.
Chris constantly works as a global ambassador to help the organisation that gave him confidence to be an openly gay athlete. His role for the Federation of Gay Games is to inspire and motivate young gay athletes worldwide. He is also the Co-President of the LGBT Powerlifting Union and the Meet Director of the LGBT International Powerlifting Championships.
The Gay Games take place in Paris on August 4 – 12 and as of June 16 there are 9,500 atheletes registered to attend.
For more information about the Paris Games, click here:
Forthcoming competitions and events Chris will appear at during the 2018 – 2019 season
July 2018 – LGBT International Powerlifting Championships (London, England) – Meet Director
August 2018 – Federation of Gay Games (Paris, France) – Ambassador Duties
Sept 2018 – GPC World Powerlifting Championships (Eger, Hungary) – Lifting and Refereeing
May 2019 – GPC European Powerlifting Championships (Tiszakecske, Hungary) – Lifting and Refereeing
July 2019 – LGBT International Powerlifting Championships (TBC – Bid Stage) – Meet Director
October 2019 – GPC World Powerlifting Championships (Nove Zamky, Slovakia) – Lifting and Refereeing
Local organisations feature in final list of nominations for National Diversity Awards (NDAs) 2018.
He has been World Champion nine times, European Champion four times, British Champion eighteen times and has won six Gay Games gold medals.
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