Leeds Pride Announces 2026 Dates and Huge 20th Anniversary

Leeds Pride has confirmed the dates for its 2026 festival, with organisers preparing for a landmark year as the event celebrates its 20th anniversary this summer.

Taking place across Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 July, this year’s celebration will be the first time in Leeds Pride history that the festival has expanded into a full two-day event, marking two decades of one of the UK’s largest and most celebrated free Pride festivals.

Organisers say the anniversary edition will be a city-wide celebration championing local LGBTQ+ talent alongside world-class entertainment, with the iconic Pride parade, street parties and a packed programme of events planned across the weekend.

The first performer confirmed for 2026 is Strictly Come Dancing icon and RuPaul’s Drag Race star La Voix, who will take to the Main Stage as part of what promises to be the biggest Leeds Pride line-up to date. The programme will also include the Leeds Pride Drag Brunch Fest and a range of events across the city centre, with further announcements expected in the coming weeks.

Jet2 has also been confirmed as the headline sponsor for the third consecutive year, continuing its support for one of the city’s most significant annual cultural events.

A Leeds Pride spokesperson said the anniversary represents “two decades of bringing our community together, championing LGBTQ+ voices and creating unforgettable moments,” adding that expanding to two days reflects how far the event has grown since its early beginnings.

Councillor Emma Flint, Leeds City Council’s executive member for equality, health and wellbeing, added that the event continues to bring people together from across Leeds, Yorkshire and beyond while celebrating the city’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community.

From Grassroots Gathering to One of the UK’s Biggest Free Pride Celebrations

As Leeds Pride marks its 20th year, the anniversary offers a moment to reflect on how far the event, and the city itself has come.

The first official Leeds Gay Pride took place in August 2006, building on earlier grassroots LGBTQ+ gatherings in the city, such as the Hyde Out picnic on Woodhouse Moor. Supported by Leeds City Council and local businesses, the inaugural event attracted around 6,500 people and marked a major step forward in the region’s visibility and celebration.

The event grew rapidly in its early years, with attendance nearly doubling by 2009 as the parade and festival became a firm fixture in the city’s summer calendar. A defining moment arrived in 2016, when the event celebrated its tenth anniversary, rebranded as Leeds Pride and evolved into the large-scale city-centre celebration recognised today. That year, more than 40,000 people attended, cementing its reputation as one of the North’s leading Pride events.

By 2018, Leeds Pride had firmly established itself as a major cultural event, attracting tens of thousands of visitors, with over 100 floats taking part in the parade and new initiatives such as the city’s Rainbow Plaque trail, which highlights important locations and figures in Leeds’ LGBTQ+ history.

Today, Leeds Pride regularly welcomes more than 70,000 people to the city centre, with hundreds of organisations taking part in the parade and celebrations that span multiple stages and venues.

Check out some content from us over the years, 2018, 2019 and last year’s highlights.