National Student Pride is back in London this weekend with over 1,500 students expected to attend.
The annual event, now in its 11th year, runs from Friday 5 February to Sunday 7 February at the University of Westminster’s Marylebone campus and G-A-Y Heaven.
With over 1,500 LGBT+ students from across the UK converging on the capital, the focus of this year’s gathering will be on mental health.
The event kicks off on Friday with welcome drinks and an opening party at G-A-Y Heaven near Charing Cross Station, London. The free daytime festival held on Saturday at the University of Westminster will include a series of panel debates and discussions which will focus on specific topics, such as mental health and coming out.
The mental health debate will be hosted by Attitude magazine editor Matthew Todd, who will be alongside a panel of experts providing real-life experiences and expertise. The panel includes DJ and transgender model Munroe Bergof, mental health campaigner and vlogger Jonny Benjamin, and Nigerian LGBT+ activist Bisi Alimi.
There will also be an R U Coming Out panel discussion – held in conjunction with the R U Coming Out website – which features Union J’s Jaymi Hensley and Radio 1’s Adele Roberts in its line-up.
Later on Saturday, the Warwick Rowers will talk about their work with naked charity calendars, which help to fund the development of Sport Allies – a project to help make team sport more inclusive, particularly for LGBT+ young people in formal education. A #StudentPride lip sync battle will also be held.
G-A-Y will be throwing a ‘Scream Queens Party’ at Heaven in the evening.
On Sunday, there is a screening of the Academy Award winning film ‘Milk’, which is based on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk. The showing, at the Regent Street Cinema, will be followed by an exclusive Q&A with Harvey Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk.
Student Pride also boasts the largest LGBT careers fair in the UK with over 30 organisations attending, including Fujitsu, the Royal Navy and the RAF.
To find out more and purchase tickets for the event, click here.
To register for the lip sync battle email: lipsync@studentpride.co.uk
