Birmingham Pride parade travels through city centre

The Birmingham Pride Parade has taken place, with tens of thousands of people taking part.

It is estimated more than 75,000 people walked, danced, and travelled on decorated floats through the city centre to the festival’s base at Smithfield.

Artists including Natasha Bedingfield, Eurovision winner Loreen, and Birmingham singer Jamelia are performing at the two-day LGBT+ event, which is one of the biggest in the UK.

The event is now in its 27th year.

Earlier this week, organisers challenged Birmingham City Council to “find us a home”, as its current site will become unusable after next year.

After the 2025 event, Smithfield is set to make way for a multibillion-pound regeneration plan, including thousands of new homes, offices, and leisure space.

Space for the festival had been factored in as part of the plans, but only for 3,000 to 4,000 people, which was too small and ” simply not conducive for us”, festival director Lawrence Barton told BBC News.

The council said it was continuing to work with the organisers and partners to help secure the future of the event.