Power Struggle at Birmingham Pride Event
Friday 2nd May 2008
Power Struggle at Birmingham Pride Event
Friday 28th March 2008
Gay community leaders are battling for organisational control of the Birmingham pride event scheduled for May 23-25.
A 2006 UK Pride event
The struggle between the Nightingale Club and Dave Babbington’s Everevent, which organised the event last year, began after a meeting of the Birmingham Gay Village Association.
At the meeting Babbington laid out his plans for the event. Following the meeting, the Nightingale Club announced it was withdrawing its support and sponsorship of the festival Babbington suggested.
The Nightingale Club is now attempting to group with other gay venues and community groups to develop and safeguard the event.
David Fazackerley, director of the Nightingale, said: “I want to stress to the whole community that this is not the Nightingale Club highjacking the event, as some have attempted to portray it; that is far from the truth. It’s an initiative where we can see full involvement from the LGBT community at large, working hand-in-hand with the gay commercial sector to produce an event that is completely transparent in its financial accounting, is fully inclusive and which sets out to be a festival that members of the Midlands’ gay community can be rightfully proud of.”
“Clearly we do not feel that we can back the blueprint that Mr. Babbington has put forward. We’re now looking for interested parties to come forward in order to set up a community and commercial body of people with the skills to put on and assist in the potential organizing of this event,” he added.
Mr. Babbington, however, had a few choice words for the Nightingale. He said: “This has come as a surprise to me. At the recent meeting of the Birmingham Gay Village Association, the Nightingale Club were informed that their funding was not required. Maybe they believed that this took away their control over the pride event.”
“Perhaps it’s too much of bitter pill for them to realise that they are not the be all and end all of the Birmingham Gay Scene, but that they are one of approximately fifteen equally important venues,” he added.
Certain other gay venues in Birmingham are backing Babbington. Simon Hill, chair of the Birmingham Gay Village Association, gave Babbington his full backing. He said: “As far as we’re concerned, nothing has changed. This letter has been sent out by the Nightingale Club alone…David Babbington of Everevent has the group’s full support on Birmingham Pride 2008.”
Other leaders have not yet declared their allegiance to one group or the other. In the meantime, the Nightingale has held some open brainstorming sessions.
What do you think? Who should run the Birmingham Pride event? Email us with your thoughts.
A 2006 UK Pride event
The struggle between the Nightingale Club and Dave Babbington’s Everevent, which organised the event last year, began after a meeting of the Birmingham Gay Village Association.
At the meeting Babbington laid out his plans for the event. Following the meeting, the Nightingale Club announced it was withdrawing its support and sponsorship of the festival Babbington suggested.
The Nightingale Club is now attempting to group with other gay venues and community groups to develop and safeguard the event.
David Fazackerley, director of the Nightingale, said: “I want to stress to the whole community that this is not the Nightingale Club highjacking the event, as some have attempted to portray it; that is far from the truth. It’s an initiative where we can see full involvement from the LGBT community at large, working hand-in-hand with the gay commercial sector to produce an event that is completely transparent in its financial accounting, is fully inclusive and which sets out to be a festival that members of the Midlands’ gay community can be rightfully proud of.”
“Clearly we do not feel that we can back the blueprint that Mr. Babbington has put forward. We’re now looking for interested parties to come forward in order to set up a community and commercial body of people with the skills to put on and assist in the potential organizing of this event,” he added.
Mr. Babbington, however, had a few choice words for the Nightingale. He said: “This has come as a surprise to me. At the recent meeting of the Birmingham Gay Village Association, the Nightingale Club were informed that their funding was not required. Maybe they believed that this took away their control over the pride event.”
“Perhaps it’s too much of bitter pill for them to realise that they are not the be all and end all of the Birmingham Gay Scene, but that they are one of approximately fifteen equally important venues,” he added.
Certain other gay venues in Birmingham are backing Babbington. Simon Hill, chair of the Birmingham Gay Village Association, gave Babbington his full backing. He said: “As far as we’re concerned, nothing has changed. This letter has been sent out by the Nightingale Club alone…David Babbington of Everevent has the group’s full support on Birmingham Pride 2008.”
Other leaders have not yet declared their allegiance to one group or the other. In the meantime, the Nightingale has held some open brainstorming sessions.
What do you think? Who should run the Birmingham Pride event? Email us with your thoughts.
