RAINBOW flags will fly over Darlington when its first outdoor pride event gets underway next month.

The town's Stanhope Park will play host to the first ever Pride in the Park event, organised by GADD (Gay Advice Darlington/Durham).

As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, the charity has organised Darlington’s first family friendly pride event.

The free day-long celebration will feature a line-up of live music from acts including Portugal’s Eurovision star Catarina Pereira, Charlie Healy from The Risk and X-Factor star Kitty Brucknell.

Darlington has hosted pride events at bars and nightclubs for years but this summer’s celebration is the first to be open to all ages.

Organiser Michael Adams said: “Most of the pride events so far have been for over-18s and we want young people to know what’s out there for them.

“We hope the event will help to show people that we’re not aliens, we’re all human and we’d like to build bridges between different communities.

“Things are much better for our community these days and we hope this event will help things along further.

“We want it to be a great day out for everyone and we’re trying to be as inclusive as possible – nobody will be turned away.”

GADD’s chief executive Emma Roebuck said pride events were an important way to mark society’s progression in relation to LGBT+ rights.

She said: “This event is all about community cohesion, social acceptance, equality and having a good time.

“Like any other pride event, it’s about marking a time when things started changing for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the late 1960s.

“It’s to celebrate and mark the beginning of a time of change – pride was originally about protest and fighting for a position in society.

“It was about getting a fair world where our relationships are on an equal par and we’re not beaten up because of who we are.”

She added: “We want to prove that Darlington’s a safe place to be gay, to be straight with gay mates and to party together.

“We are one community, made up of many communities.”

Pride in the Park will take place from noon until 6pm on Sunday, September 6.

Anyone interested in volunteering to steward the event or in helping to sponsor it can contact GADD by calling 01325 252522 or emailing admin@gayadvicedarlington.co.uk.