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NORTHERN PRIDE UNVEILS PLATINUM SPONSOR
One of Newcastle’s favourite bars is giving its support to the region’s leading LGBTQIA+ festival. Work is now underway for Northern Pride, which is planned for the weekend of July 22 -23 2023.
We have revealed how those who choose to buy a Platinum Pass will get an amazing experience, thanks to the support of Bobby’s Newcastle at Scotswood Road, which is sponsoring the Platinum Bar and Garden.
Next year’s event will see the Town Moor site reconfigured, giving those with the Platinum Passes their own festival entrance, private marquee, large private scale bar a garden area with seating, and more luxurious toilets than in previous years.
The area will be far bigger, to deal with the increased demand and ensuring that it is a comfortable space for everyone.
“We were overwhelmed by the number of people who wanted Platinum Passes during our UK Pride 2022 event,” said Ste Dunn, director of Northern Pride.
“So we have factored that in this year and have allocated more space including giving everyone with tickets access to the Platinum Pass Circle at the front of the main stage.
“We are extremely grateful to have had Bobby’s come on board once again, as without their support and the support of our sponsors, we could not create an event on this scale.”
Kirk Spencer of Bobby’s said the sponsorship was part of an on-going commitment to support the community.
“We are involved in a whole host of different activities to support the local LGBTQIA+ community, including holding regular open mike nights, fundraising events, and we even support teams like Panthers FC and The Ravens rugby team,” he said.
“We are delighted to be able to sponsor the Platinum Bar and Garden again and look forward to working with Northern Pride on the run up to the festival weekend.”
Platinum Passes are now on sale for the event, although all the Early Bird passes are sold out. Prices start from £14 (plus fees) for a day pass and £20 (plus fees) for a weekend pass. Further information and booking is available at www.northern-pride.com
A number of other sponsorship opportunities are available for the festival, which can be viewed at the website.
£20 for a weekend pass doesn’t mean the Platinum Circle should take the front of the main stage. On Town Moor, that’s the only decent sightline zone; a bigger bar and garden won’t fix pushing general admission back. I’ve watched the same “scarcity equals value” logic with what Pokémon card values actually do, and it rarely makes the base experience fairer. Ste Dunn’s demand point is real, but demand isn’t a reason to tier the view.
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£14 for a day pass and £20 for the weekend, yet the Platinum Circle gets the front of the main stage. I tried copying that reserved-zone logic for a small zine fair and it backfired: giving people more space just made the bar queue snake through the garden. Splitting the entrance in two worked better. Still, seeing Ste Dunn explain the Town Moor reconfiguration, I get why Northern Pride scaled up. Comparing options on some of the best AI tools for event maps helped me test layouts before committing.
The bit about reconfiguring Town Moor so Platinum Pass holders get their own entrance, marquee and garden really stands out—space planning makes or breaks a festival. I helped map out a small community Pride stall last year, and even a few extra metres changed everything for crowd flow. I ended up sketching out the layout on a grid just to keep the bar and seating from clashing. Glad early birds sold out too.
Great to see local businesses supporting Northern Pride and the community. The Platinum Pass upgrades sound like a big improvement, and I even tried a magic 8 ball wheel for fun.