YORK Pride 2019 launches at an event in the city tomorrow night.

York St John University will host the event which will see sponsors and supporters come together to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of 2018.

They will also share plans on how to involve more organisations and community groups to make York the friendliest place to be LGBT. There will be speakers from York Pride, Make It York and a number of York Pride supporters and sponsors.

York Pride will take place on Saturday, June 8 when the streets of York will once again be alive with colour and celebration as the York Pride parade moves through the city and to its festival home at The Knavesmire, supported by York’s Ultra Fibre Optic (UFO) from TalkTalk.

Greg Stephenson, chairman of York Pride, said: “We are thrilled to have TalkTalk on board as sponsors for the first time in 2019. Their support for the event shows their commitment to York and the local communities of York.”

Helen Fletcher, marketing manager for York’s UFO from TalkTalk, said: “We’re really looking forward to joining in with the celebrations at York Pride this year and we’re thrilled to be able to support this fabulous event.

"This Friday we’ll be joining the York Pride team and fellow sponsors and supporters to hear the plans for 2019 and we can’t wait to get involved.

"We have a lot of very excited volunteers from our internal TalkPride Committee joining us in the summer.

"One of our volunteers will be speaking at the launch about his first ever Pride experience in 1986 and the work he’s involved in to make TalkTalk an inclusive and welcoming place where people feel comfortable to be themselves.”

York Pride is the annual celebration of the LGBT+ community and expected to attract an even bigger crowd during a day of celebration on Saturday, June 8. It starts with a parade from York Minster to the Knavesmire, where there will be a free family day filled with live music and entertainment on two stages, funfair, food and drink stalls plus local traders and charities.