Channel Islands Pride 2023 was finally the year when, after three disrupted years, it all went to plan! Four days of Pride activities started on Thursday with a Drag Make-up Workshop tutored by Flesh and Paige Three, two of our guest queens, followed by a Sunset Dance Party. A great start to what was to be a fabulous weekend.

Friday night was a fundraiser for Liberate that brought top UK tribute acts to People’s Park for the Pride Idols Concert. The evening started with some of our talented local artistes getting the crowd going, then it was the turn of Celine Dion and Freddie Mercury to give the audience a taste of their Pride Idols. Finally, Lady Gaga and Elton John took to the stage to round off a stellar evening with top stars.

If that was not enough on Friday, the public had the choice of Gone Crusin’ on the Pre-Pride Boat Party or taking part in Drag Bingo featuring our guest drag artistes.

Saturday was Pride all the way! The forecast was mixed, but as long as we got the 50m flag out and in before the showers nothing else mattered! The parade gathered in Royal Square at midday and walked the new route down King Street, and into York Street, where the flag was rolled out. Paradegoers carried it from the Town Hall to the top of Parade Gardens. From there, the 7 minute long parade turned into Kensington Place, Kensington Street and into People’s Park by the Shipwright Inn. Music was provided by the Jersey Scout Band, whose youngest members did brilliantly in carrying some heavy instruments all that way, and by 3rd Above’s golf buggy rigged with speakers – we have almost solved the problem of music throughout the length of the parade after 8 years!

Although the flag stayed dry out Pridegoers were in for a soaking twice – as the parade arrived in the park and in the middle of the afternoon. This did nothing to dampen spirits and once the showers stopped people came out from under whichever stall, marquee or tent they found shelter in. And there were a lot to choose from this year!

The village grew this year to encompass Victoria Park and People’s Park with new zones. In 2023 the following zones catered to our guests – the Family Zone with huge inflatables that kept the youngest happy; the Community Zone that was busy all afternoon with charities sharing their support work with a new audience; the Art and Exhibition Zone with RampArts creating work through the afternoon, our Pride ‘Free To Be’ photos by Nicky Kill, and a history of LGBTQ+ lives in the Channel Islands; the Pet Station where our faithful companions could get treats and a drink; the Quiet and Accessibility Zone for those who needed a break from the noise and bustle; the Wellbeing Zone with health information and demos by Zumba and Yoga practitioners; the Youth Zone hosted by the Jersey Youth Service with special guests from ‘I Can, I Am and I Will’; and, the always popular Silent Disco.

The village also encompassed fairground rides for the thrillseekers, a selection of food and drink outlets, and greater accessibility support including volunteers positioned throughout the site to offer assistance.

The CI Pride main stage was hosted by Dr Adam Perchard with DJ Hannah Jacques providing music in between acts. The keynote speaker this year was comedian and activist Twayna Maine. Our headliners were the incredily popular boys from 5IVE, Iranian LGBTQ+ DJ Ellie Prohan, and our UK Drag Superstars. And, for the first time, we had a second cabaret stage in Victoria Park for a smaller more intimate performances. Both stages were programmed expertly by the Jersey Arts Centre with the cabaret stage ‘standing room only’ for large parts of the afternoon.

As if all that was not enough to organise, the CI Pride committee topped the day off with an after-party featuring Una Healey from the Saturdays and DJ Woody Cook at the Royal Yacht.

For those whose Pride appetite was not completely satisfied on Sunday the weekend closed with a FOMO Drag Brunch featuring our guest and local drag queens at the Pomme d’Or, and a Sundowner Boat Party on The Jersey Duchess.

CI Pride 2023 in Jersey was the year we ‘went large’, organising it was exhilarating, exciting, exhausting and a little bit mad! We want to thank everyone who attended for their love and support for the Island’s LGBTQ+ community and other minority groups. The 10,000 people who attended over the course of the weekend demonstrated to anyone looking on that Jersey embraces its diversity. We also want to express a huge thanks to all the acts, suppliers, vendors, caterers, charities and everyone who made the day such a success. Our special thanks to our stage directors Daniel Austin and Hettie Duncan, host Dr Adam Perchard, to Scott Livingstone and 3rd Above, to Ben Martin and Flair Entertainment, and to our headliners Ellie Prohan and 5IVE.

Thank you to the people and organisations who create the village and support Pride – Jason and the JDC team, Rob and the Stage 2 team, and the security teams. Our special thanks go to Katie at Mantra Brand House for all her hard work on the artwork, marketing and design of CI Pride 2023.

Thank you to our sponsors. They ensure that Pride remains free for anyone to attend, which is essential to making Pride one of the most inclusive events in the Islands. Thank you to JE our headline sponsor, and to Mourant, Apex and HSBC our platinum sponsors. Thank you to the Channel Islands Co-Operative Society, our founding sponsor. Thank you to Ogier, RBC, PwC, NatWest, Standard Bank and Lloyds Bank for sponsoring the zones. Thank you to Walkers, EY, TMF, EFG, JTC and Saltgate for their support and sponsorship. And a special thank you to Government of Jersey for their support this year.

Finally, thank you especially to our Pride committee led by Christian May. Thank you to Nigel, Paddy, Natalie, Angela, Jo, Josh, Marta, Max, Chris, Louise, Jo, Russell and James. We did it!

UPDATE: We asked and you responded! Thank you to everyone who provided feedback to our survey. We will work hard over the next two years to make your Pride even better. See you all in 2025.