Norwich Pride: Bars and pubs gear up for busiest day of year

Norwich Pride returns to the city centre for its 15th year this weekend, with thousands of people from across the region expected to attend.

For the city’s LGBTQA+ venues, that means a huge surge in custom as revellers look to continue the party after Saturday’s parade.

The Lollard Pit pub, on Riverside Road, said the night is usually “as big, if not bigger, than New Year’s Eve”, with people saving for months for the occasion.

Party-goers at The Lollard Pit pub in Norwich celebrating Pride (Image: The Lollard Pit)

Manager Billy said: “It brings a lot of customers and groups in, with people not just from Norwich but from other areas too.

“With the economy the way it is people save their money for these bigger events, and it gets bigger and better every year.

READ MORE: Norwich Pride 2023: All the road closures in the city centre 

Over at The Castle, Norwich’s oldest LGBQTA+ venue, the team has been preparing for weeks to get ready for the big day.

Manager Danny Thurston said they’ll not only see plenty of customers from the local gay community, but from across society too.

Party-goers at The Lollard Pit pub in Norwich celebrating Pride (Image: The Lollard Pit)

They said: “Norwich is quite a safe and accepting city, as we have seen at our sister venue The Loft NR1, where we have been extremely busy with customers who are heterosexual but don’t care that they spend their evening in an LGBT+ venue.

“On Pride day we see lots of new faces from other places and it is great to see people travel for this event.

“We also have our customers that support us all year and we also see the return of customers that we may have not seen for a while.

“We’ve been preparing for weeks to get the space ready and will have people behind all three bars to make sure we’re ready.”