The Bristol Pride Gala Ball which took place in the Marriott Royal Hotel at the end of October brought Bristol Businesses and members of the community together to celebrate LGBT Bristol.
The event, hosted by Bristol Pride, aimed to bring those businesses doing great work in the city for their LGBT+ staff, clients, visitors and the wider community and celebrate their successes through the first ever Bristol Pride Awards.
Both Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson and The Right Hon Lord Mayor of Bristol, Clare Campion-Smith attended the event and presented awards.
Businesses present on the night including Bristol based law firms Burges Salmon, Irwin Mitchell and DAC Beachcroft as well as the University of West of England, The Labour Party including 2016 mayoral candidate Marvin Rees, atBristol, SS Great Britain, representatives from the music industry and staff from the MOD and Environment Agency.
The night was a Halloween themed spectacle with jugglers, acrobatic performances and magicians ahead of a three 3 course dinner and masquerade after party.
The highlight of the night however were the Pride Awards which had been nominated by members of the public.
Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson praised the hard work being done in the city for the LGBT community whilst presenting the award for Best Employer which was won by The Watershed, whilst The Lord Mayor, Clare Campion-Smith presented the award for Most Friendly LGBT+ Visitor Attraction which was awarded to the science centre atBristol.
The University of the West of England at Bristol picked up a special recognition award for the overwhelming support they have given Bristol Pride over the past six years as well as achieving the highest ranking educational institute in the Stonewall Workplace Equality index in 2015 coming 11th in the Top100 overall.
Their support to Bristol Pride both financially and with awareness of their events and activities amongst staff, students and Bristol as a whole has meant a great deal to staff and to students and in some cases have been one of the reasons LGBT students have chosen to come to live and study in Bristol.
Pride volunteer John Paul Bradbury was recognised for his work with the team and awarded the Outstanding Volunteer Contribution award for his dedication and hard work. John signed up to work as this year’s Volunteer Parade Manager after only being in Bristol a few short weeks.
His hard work meant that Bristol Pride’s largest parade to date, with over 5000 people, was a great success and was safely managed and coordinated as people marched through the busy city streets.
Director Daryn Carter, said: “It was a fantastic night and with great support from big local businesses, members of the public and both the Mayor and Lord Mayor of the city attended the event. I am really pleased we have been able to recognise the great work being done in the city by businesses who are visibly showcasing their support to staff and commitment to the community, be that through great equalities training, staff networks or just supporting community events like Pride.
“It was heartwarming to read some of the reasons why organisations were nominated for awards and it’s clear the work they are doing clearly means a great deal to staff and the community. In the case of UWE this extends to students who for some have been one of the reasons they have chosen to come to live and study in Bristol.”
On winning Best Law Firm Jonathan Peacock, Partner at Irwin Mitchell LLP said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received this award, with the prize being a great tribute to the fantastic range of work undertaken by many people within our office. As well as sponsoring the Pride annual event, our caseworkers have consistently acted with empathy and understanding of the issues faced in the LGBT community and are a major credit to the firm.
“The win is a great time to celebrate our commitment to this area and we are already thinking about the next steps we can take to improve our support even further.”
Full List of Awards and Winners
♦ Best Law Firm: Irwin Mitchell LLP
♦ Best LGBT+ Staff Network: The Co-operative
♦ Best LGBT+ Friendly Visitor Attraction: atBristol
♦ Best Employer: Watershed
♦ Best Act at Pride Day: NINA
♦ Outstanding Volunteer Contribution: John Paul Bradbury
♦ Best Stall at Pride Day: Labour
♦ Special Recognition: UWE Bristol
♦ Bristol Pride Achievement Award: The Environment Agency
For more information about Bristol Pride, click here:
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