Proud of Pride
The first British Gay Pride event of 2003 came to Oxford last Saturday. It was also the first ever Pride event in our ancient city's history.
Organisers declared the celebration, which was attended by over 2,000 people on the Oxpens field near the Ice Rink, a huge success.
The event was attended by not just by gay people, but also by gay friendly individuals and families, with kids taking advantage of the bouncy castle slide.
Some attending the event were put off by the village fete atmosphere of the event, perhaps expecting a London-style Mardi Gras. However Mark Whittaker, the Chair of the Committee that organized the event, praised the range of people who attended.
He said he was "delighted by the number of people that turned out to support the event and impressed to see large numbers of families and children, showing that Pride really was a day of fun and celebration for the whole community".
Despite low levels of policing, the day passed off without a hitch or homophobic incident. Police were present, however, hoping to promote their new initiative to crack down on homophobic crime. The new proposals aim to improve relations between the police and the gay community, whilst encouraging victims of homophobic crime to report incidents against them. Part of the work includes 'third-party reporting' to make it easier for victims to come forward. Thus the incident will still be reported to the police but the victim does not need to have direct contact with officers unless they wish to.
8th May 2003