Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Rainbow Flag.

The flag, designed by Gilbert Baker and originally known as “the freedom flag”, was used for a gay freedom day parade in San Francisco in 1978 and has since come to be accepted worldwide as a symbol of support for diversity in the way people lead their lives.

Now, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and ‘trans’ (LGBT) communities in Plymouth are to use a Rainbow Flag theme for their entry in this year’s city parade on May 17, for which the Lord Mayor has chosen the theme ‘The people and diverse communities of Plymouth’.

An open invitation has been issued by the committee of plymouth prideevent 2008 for LGBT communities’ families and friends to join its float in the parade, which will be bedecked with Rainbow Flags.  hose who want to take part should meet on Plymouth Hoe at 10 am on the day.

Plymouth prideevent 2008 is also organising the region’s largest annual Pride event, a free entry one-day event in Plymouth Guildhall which will this year take place on Saturday, June 7.

The event celebrates diversity in Plymouth and the wider area of the region, and awareness of the day will be raised by participation in the Lord Mayor’s Parade.

It will also benefit from a revived closer working relationship with the reconstituted Plymouth Pride Forum, which is a separate organisation supporting the city’s LGBT communities.

Together with a number of other city agencies and statutory authorities, the two Pride groups have been involved in a review of the services available to LGBT communities and identifying gaps in services and how they can be met.

Plymouth prideevent 2008 will feature a comprehensive exhibition on the history of LGBT communities, including Holocaust Memorial Day, and information about famous people in history who were either lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans.

The day-long event is again being planned as a fun day for LGBT communities’ families and friends and is likely to attract many visitors to the city from all over the country.

Attractions will include boy band Billiam, who are the official support act for Girls Aloud Tangled Up tour 2008, a samba band, a Madonna tribute singer, belly dancers, rodeo bull, sumo suits, a bungee run, line dancing, and street and circus skills entertainers, plus lots more, while on the more serious side there will be a public forum involving police, health, and city council representatives.

Plymouth prideevent 2008 is now a registered charity and the event raises funds to support organisations in the city’s LGBT communities

It works in partnership with Plymouth City Council, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, Plymouth Primary Care Trust, Out Youth Group, Plymouth Pride Forum, Plymouth Sound Radio, The Swallow public house, Zeros Nightclub, Eddystone Trust, Intercom Trust, Fyne Times, In Other Words Books, She Bang, University of Plymouth, and the TUC South West.

The committee is looking for people to volunteer to help on the day, or to join the committee.