PRIDE in Surrey has announced that it is building on the success of August’s event by staging the county’s first Winter Pride this year.

The event will be held in Guildford on Sunday 1 December – World AIDS Day – and will include a vigil remembering those lost to and living with HIV and Aids.

“It will celebrate how far we have come whilst educate on the importance of regular testing and the services available to people in Surrey and surrounding areas,” said a spokesman.

The first Pride in Surrey event brought more than £300,000 revenue to Woking businesses, say the organisers.

Pride in Surrey 2019, which is based in Woking, is working with the Academy of Contemporary Music and the Electric Theatre in Guildford to organise a celebration with “minimal ticket prices and which still celebrates, educates and connects the LGBTQ+ community and its allies”.

Stephen Ireland, founder of Pride in Surrey and now Patron of Outline Surrey, added: “I am really excited that we are using the momentum to bring something else this year, this time in Guildford. And, of course, our eyes are on the 2020 event.”

For the full story get the 12 September edition of the News & Mail