Liverpool Pride funding campaign passes halfway mark

A Go Fund Me campaign to support Liverpool Pride celebrations has gone past the halfway mark in just a few weeks.

With a target set of £60,000, the Save Liverpool Pride 2025 fund now stands at just below £30,000 – with other donations of around £10,000 taking the total to around £40,000 already.

The news comes just days after LGBTQ+ charity Sahir House announced it was stepping in to ensure that Liverpool Pride would go ahead with a new name and new hope.

CEO of Sahir House, Ant Hopkinson said today it was a magnificent effort by the people of Liverpool – and proof of how the city always comes together to support one another when it’s needed.

Ant said:

“To be over the halfway mark already is just incredible,”

“The story here is one, genuinely, of the community coming together to make this happen.”

“Liverpool, as a city, always pulls together to make things work when it matters.”

“Liverpool supports one another. And if people haven’t got money, they have got time, they’ve got energy, they’ve got creativity.”

“People find ways to help however they can. And that’s the more powerful message.”

It’s not just about giving money, he explains:

“It’s about that community spirit, because on top of that we have got a huge amount of in kind support.”

“The M&S Bank Arena has kindly provided the space for the day.”

“Liverpool City Council has donated a huge amount of support in kind to make the march itself happen and the Combined Authority is supporting us.”

“We’ve had artists and photographers offering their support, people with time wanting to help fund-raise, people who want to be stewards on the day … it’s that idea of if they can help, they will help and we want to continue to encourage people to do that where they can.”

“It’s Liverpool, as always, pushing forward that ethos of support and community spirit – similar to what we saw with Zoe’s Place although that was on a different scale – and we need to keep championing that. “

“Especially with what’s going on in the world right now, to have a community, to have a city, that is there for each other is a wonderful thing.”

A programme of events for Liverpool’s Pride will be revealed later this week.

But there will be, at the M&S Bank Arena, says Ant, a huge queer celebration with local talent from singers and dancers to drag artists and DJs, and a market place with LGBTQ+ makers and service providers.

Ant said:

“There’s lots of things happening throughout the day – and weekend – including street parties in the Pride Quarter and events like our Access Pride event at The Brink for people living with disabilities, neurodiversity, or those seeking a family-friendly, alcohol-free environment during Liverpool’s Pride celebrations.”

Ant goes on:

“The original announcement that Pride wasn’t going to go ahead was a shock. This year is Sahir House’s 40^th anniversary and we have been around since the mid-80s providing essential services for people living with HIV, and the LGBTQ+ community and it’s important that we are all visible and standing in solidarity and embracing our identities in a very public way.”

“With what’s going on in the world, pulling Pride away from the community was not the right thing to do, that’s why it meant so much to the community, to have a celebration, to have a march, to pull together.”

“To have a city-wide event.”

“We do have nay-sayers, there is hate. But we want to showcase how much love there is, and how much generosity of spirit. There are times in history where Pride and togetherness, and solidarity, mean a lot – and this is that time.”

“Our slogan at Sahir House is Stronger Together. Liverpool is Stronger Together.”