To celebrate the return of Pride Cymru, we asked Cardiff students what Pride means to them

Pride promotes equality and diversity for all, and three weeks ago we saw thousands flock to Cardiff to take part in Wales’ biggest LGBTQ+ celebration of the year. The start of Pride weekend was marked by the parade on Saturday morning, spreading its electrifying energy throughout the city centre.

This was followed by a whole host of events spread over the course of the bank holiday weekend, including performances from Mel B and Bimini on the main stage. Visitors also had the opportunity to support LGBTQ+ businesses located on the bustling, colour-filled streets of the city centre.

The Tab asked Cardiff Uni students who attended the event: “What does Pride mean to you?”

John Beauchamp – LGBT+ officer at Cardiff Students Union

“So for me Pride is extremely meaningful. Growing up in a town and situation where being loudly myself wasn’t a safe option, watching prides from a distance was a much-needed lifeline to a world that often seemed to be extremely distant from me.

“That’s why it’s such a big deal. Pride is a celebration, but it is that coming together to celebrate as a whole community that is a protest. It’s a signal to LGBT+ youth everywhere that we are here and we accept them.”

Alex Meers – Cardiff University student

“Pride to me is all a kind of coming together as a community and celebrating queer culture and how far we have come in the past one hundred years.

“Even within my own lifetime we’ve seen even things like gay marriage; it’s such a recent thing and we’ve come so far in recent years, but I think we need to remember it is still a protest. We need to use it to make sure we’re identifiable, to make sure we’re building on our platform. It was so incredible today to see that ‘trans right are human rights’ [written] everywhere—all in the parade or even on the stage and stuff.

“So personally, it’s all about, yes celebrating where we’ve come and all about our wonderful culture, drag culture—iconic, but also, about making sure we build on it and make things better for everyone who is not quite as lucky.”

Shreshth Goel – VP of societies and volunteering for Cardiff University’s Student Union

“This was my first ever Pride and I was really excited about it. I attended both the days which was really fun.

“In general, what Pride means to me is just a celebration of how far we’ve come, and just making sure that we’re moving in the right direction and making sure we’re on the right side of history and supporting everyone to make sure they feel included.”

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