After a challenging few months of uncertainty that left the team deflated, the Scunthorpe Pride committee is delighted to officially announce that the town’s 2026 Pride celebration is locked in and moving forward.
In 2025 our footfall cameras captured a staggering 17,000 visitors to site throughout the day, so we know people want this event.
The event’s future was successfully secured following the news of a vital funding award and the local community donating to support the event.
This crucial injection of capital will specifically cover the festival’s essential overheads, including licensing, permits and the main stage.
The journey to this year’s event has been an uphill battle. Facing an overall fundraising target of £20,000 to ensure a safe, high-quality festival, the committee were met with several disappointing rejections before securing this latest breakthrough. Organisers credit the local community’s unwavering emotional and financial support for keeping the project alive during its darkest hours.
“The last few months have been tough, but the kindness of our community gave us hope when we needed it most. We aren’t at the finish line yet, but the message today is clear, Scunthorpe Pride is happening and it has been a true community effort, Thank You!”
The breakthrough follows a massive fundraising push from the local community and businesses, including Scunthorpe Pride’s fundraising events and efforts:
£750 raised at the annual Pride Prom.
£945 raised through a raffle, generously match-funded by The Wortley House Hotel.
£3,274 raised via an incredible community GoFundMe campaign and a donation from Unite at British Steel, event medical cover cost support from the Egdon Fund, and continued backing from Rands Solicitors.
We are hoping and praying for a miracle that one last funding opportunity will come through for us to bridge the gap and let us breathe, knowing our event can run at the capacity it needs to. But the latest savoir funding came from “Pride In Place” this funding is specifically to cover licensing and stage hire. We also have premium sponsorship from Vital Hands, a brand new app based staffing platform for the health and social care sector.
Where did we get the rest of the money? Well, last year we held a fundraiser almost every month and this year we just haven’t had the capacity to do this, it takes a lot of time and background organisation, ticket sale stress and we all work full time with busy family lives and children, so we were shorter than usual on our start for 2026 as we raised over 7k in 2025 from doing our fundraising events. However, we didn’t start 2026 off with nothing, the income we generated at the main event helps cover costs and anything left gets put into the following years event, donations on the day, Pride merch, % of bar sales, Stall bookings in our Main arena and Pride Market and generous donations throughout the year from businesses and the general public. We do also have monthly outgoings to cover such as a storage units for all of the event equipment.
Scunthorpe Pride 2025 cost over £42,000
If we can sell out Dame Ida at The Wortley on June 27th to capacity we will be that one step closer to our final target, so get buying tickets!
It’s the Final Push to 5k
While the funding provides a solid foundation, a remaining goal of £5,000 is required for security measures such as fencing and trained SIA, entertainment and the overall standard of the event.
To help bridge the gap, we’ve added an exciting final fundraiser, The Dame Ida International Cabaret Show at The Wortley House Hotel on Saturday, 27th June. Tickets are just £10, with the potential to raise £2,000 if the theatre production sells out.
How the Public Can Help
We are calling on residents, local businesses and allies to help them cross the finish line. Every contribution, whether £3, £5, or £10 towards entry, this ensures the event remains safe, inclusive and free for everyone.There will be donation buckets around the event on the day so please give what you can so we can continue to deliver the event year upon year.
Buy Tickets to Dame Ida International – skiddle.com or at the Wortley Reception.
Donate Directly via Stripe
Become a Corporate Sponsor
Spread the Word: Like, comment, and share the official announcements on social media using #ScunthorpePride and #Pride2026.
The team continues to work tirelessly behind the scenes on backup funding options, but community support over the coming weeks remains absolutely vital.
P.s No Council Tax was harmed in the making of this event. And the funding we received wasn’t allocated or eligible to potholes.
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