Lord Mayor Councillor Nichola Mallon – Picture courtesy Belfast City Council

I have great pride for Belfast and am delighted to extend a warm welcome to everyone involved in this year’s Pride.
The success of this festival is demonstrated by the fact that it gets bigger every year and going by the wide range of events outlined in the guide, this year will be no exception.
Belfast is a city transformed and it continues to grow in diversity and dynamism.
The power behind this positive change is the people of Belfast; people who right across this city – regardless of their age, background, sexuality, colour or creed – are all working together and contributing to the vitality, growth and success of this city.
I want to thank all those involved in Pride and the LGBTQ+ community for their contribution in making Belfast the rich and vibrant city that it is.

Your contribution is invaluable and the lighting up of City Hall in a rainbow of colours to mark this year’s Pride Day, is our way of saying ‘Thank You’.
There is so much to celebrate about the Best of Belfast. But we also have challenges still to overcome and prejudices to dismantle.

We have travelled far but our journey is not yet complete. I have no doubt that together we can, and will, overcome these challenges and Belfast will be all the better for it.

Lord Mayor of Belfast,
Councillor Nichola Mallon