With Pride being marked in June of 2022, the Quintain Pride Alliance worked together to celebrate the occasion and provide staff with an opportunity to learn about the history of LGBTQ+ communities in the UK as well as giving them tools for effective allyship. The month’s programme was about celebration, but also about education, awareness and reflection. In the weekly internal newsletter, the team shared recommended TV shows and movies with LGBTQ+ themes, published a Q&A with an LGBTQ+ member of staff, and shared helpful resources and external events that people could get involved with. The Quintain Pride Alliance also hosted two key events: one for staff and one for the local community.
Pride flag cake and coffee
Quintain staff were invited to enjoy some rainbow cake, baked by a team member, whilst raising money for Outreach in Ukraine, a charity which has supported LGBTQ+ people through the country’s war. Ukraine’s queer community has been particularly vulnerable with lack of access to HIV medication, encountering heightened hate crime through disruption in policing, and difficulties whilst trying to flee or join the military service as their IDs do not match their gender expression. £250 was raised for the charity, and the event provided an opportunity to educate staff on the history of the pride flag and LGBTQ+ expressions and terms.
Wembley Park Pride in the Park
A free-to-attend event held in Wembley Park’s public realm saw over 500 members of the local community celebrate Pride, including families and children. The programme featured live performances, DJs, dance workshops, art classes, face painting and entertainers. The North West London Lesbian and Gay Group delivered a short speech on the community bandstand on Olympic Way. Rainbow flag banners along Olympic Way were also well received, with very positive feedback expressed by Quintain Living’s LGBTQ+ residents. The flags’ presence on site was secured from June until the end of September, forming a backdrop to the thousands of photos Wembley Park’s visitors took for social media during that period, helping spread the message that Wembley Park is an inclusive place for LGBTQ+ visitors and residents.
