Celebrating 50 Years of Pride

This July will see the UK celebrate 50 years of Pride and we will be showing our support with a Nice ‘n’ Naughty Pride Raffle to raise funds for the Terrence Higgins Trust. Running from now until the end of September, the prize is a ‘Colt Gear’ hamper worth over £275 and all funds raised will be donated directly to THT.

The History of Pride

The first UK pride was held on July 1^st 1972  in London, as a protest with between 200 and 500 people marching from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square.

We have come a long way since that first one, with over 180 Pride events bring held in the UK this year alone. Why choose July 1^st 1972, well it was the closest Saturday to June 28^th, as London Pride wasn’t the first Pride event the world had seen.

The first was in New York City on the 28^th June 1969, and that Pride was a riot; literally!

Back in 1969, NYC wasn’t the vibrant and diverse city it is today, but it did have a small gay scene located in Greenwich Village, where its roots still remain. However, the boys and girls who found a safe space in these bars, had to put up with not only bigotry from the public, but also daily harassment from the authorities and police.

In the early hours of the 28^th June everything changed and the first Pride the world had known took place following another raid by the police on The Stonewall Inn. The patrons of the bar decided that enough was enough and what followed were days and nights of protests on the streets of NYC.

The Stonewall Riots were a turning point in liberation for the LGBTQ+ community, and the catalyst for London Pride. Every year since, NYC has held its Pride Rally to mark this event, with many other cities in the US holding their Pride events in this month too, making June Pride Month globally.

Here in the UK, although we still recognise June as Pride month, we have pride celebrations throughout the year.  June to September hold some of our biggest events, with London, Brighton and Manchester all holding their Prides in July and August, and Birmingham holding theirs on the weekend of the 24^th and 25^th September, marking the end of the UK Pride events for this year.

As a celebration of 50 years of Pride in the UK, we are holding and raffle, with tickets available in store and online at £1 each, with no other purchase necessary, and Nice ‘n’ Naughty will donate all proceeds to the THT.

Nice ‘n’ Naughty has always been an inclusive company, with many members of the team from the LGBTQ+ community. Philip Charter-Price, our National Retail Manager and former Manager of the Brighton store has been a proud part of the Nice ‘n’ Naughty family for over 16 years, and believes Pride is as important today as it always has been. We are lucky to live in a country where we are allowed to live our own authentic lives, there are many that cannot and the decision to get behind THT for this raffle was an easy decision to make, as he has seen first-hand the work they do for the individuals who need it daily.

During his time with Nice ‘n’ Naughty, Philip has been involved with Prides all over the country from Manchester to Newcastle, Leeds to Bristol, Chester to Brighton, and this year will be no exception, as you will find him in Brighton handing out goodie bags to all the beautiful people.

Why THT

Celebrating their 40th anniversary year, the Terrence Higgins Trust was the first HIV charity set up in the UK, and is named after Terry Higgins, who died at the age of 37 on 4 July 1982 at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. He was among the first people to die from the AIDs virus in the UK.

THT campaigns about and provides support and services relating to HIV and sexual health to anyone who needs assistance in the UK. The charity’s aim is to end the transmission of HIV in the UK, to empower and support people living with HIV and to eradicate the stigma and discrimination attached to the HIV.

Terrence Higgins Trust is considered to be the leading HIV charity in the UK and the largest in Europe, and the lead organisation for Public Health England's HIV prevention partnership, HIV Prevention England.

The Raffle

To join in with in our raffle all you need to do is either pop in store or search for it online.

If purchasing instore, pay for your ticket at the counter and our staff will enter your email address on the receipt, where it will only be used to contact you if you have won.

For tickets online, simply follow the link or search for Pride Raffle in the product search and add a ticket to your basket.

If you wish to purchase just a raffle ticket, the basket will automatically show delivery as zero, making the total cart £1.00. If you are adding a raffle ticket to a basket with additional items, then standard delivery charges will apply. Process the sale as you would normally, and remember to enter your email address, as we will contact the winner this way.

The draw will take place on the 3^rd October 2022 and the winner will be notified by email, with a press release and statement being issued later that month to notify every one of the amount donated and the lucky winner, pending their consent.

So this summer let’s all show some Pride, because we all form part of the LGBTQIA+ community if we respect and support an individual’s right to live their own authentic life!

LGBTQIA+ is an inclusive term that includes people of all genders and sexualities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, asexual, pansexual, and allies. While each letter in LGBTQIA+ stands for a specific group of people, the term encompasses the entire spectrum of gender fluidity and sexual identities.

Happy Pride

Love Team Nice ‘n’ Naughty

For information and support from THT click here.

For details on London Pride click here.

For details on Brighton Pride click here.

For details on Manchester Pride click here.

For details on Birmingham Pride click here.

A full list of UK Prides can be found here.