Liverpool’s Pride Opening Party on 24th July 2026 was the kind of event that could easily have been done to the LGBTQ+ community rather than with it. A major arena. A headline act. A Friday night ticket price that not everyone could afford. The risk of it feeling like a corporate Pride moment rather than a genuine community one was real.
John Hyland was brought in by Liverpool Experience Campus to make sure that didn’t happen.
The Snapshot
Client: Liverpool Experience Campus
Event: Liverpool’s Pride Opening Party, M&S Bank Arena, 24 July 2026
Headline acts: Sugababes, Beth Ditto, Bimini, Tia Kofi, House Gospel Choir, Horse Meat Disco
Timeframe: April to July 2026
Scope: Community engagement, PR support, creative content
Community organisations contacted: 30+
Attendance: Near capacity for the auditorium configuration
Press coverage: Attitude Magazine, DIVA Magazine, and others
Social content reach: 7.8K (Peaches & Cream collaboration), 4.6K (Proudly Said on-the-night content), 995 likes on Manchester Village Pride collaboration
The Brief
Liverpool Experience Campus needed someone who could build genuine relationships across Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ community, support a press narrative that went beyond the headline acts, and ensure the campaign felt credible to the people it was trying to reach. The brief wasn’t just about ticket sales. It was about making sure the right people felt genuinely invited in.
Community Engagement
Working as an embedded member of the wider Liverpool Experience Campus campaign team, John led direct outreach to over 30 LGBTQ+ groups, organisations, venues, sports clubs and businesses across the Liverpool City Region.
Every approach was built around genuine involvement. Groups were positioned as stakeholders in the event, not distribution points for marketing material, with each partner given a meaningful reason to feel connected to the night and invested in its success.
Confirmed partners across the campaign included community club nights and events, LGBTQ+ sports clubs including Liverpool Frontrunners, Mersey Marauders FC, Liverpool Tritons RUFC and Liverpool Trans & Enby FC, regional pride organisations including Sefton Pride, Wirral Pride, Knowsley Pride, St Helens Pride and Chester Pride, community groups including Merseyside Queer Hikers, Board Gaymes and Proud Readers Book Club, and LGBTQ+ venues including The Lisbon, Masquerade, Superstar Boudoir, OMG Liverpool and Heaven.
A community nominee scheme was developed to ensure people who couldn’t otherwise afford to attend were given access through trusted community organisations.
The Opening Ceremony Memorial
As part of the Opening Ceremony content, John led the research and compilation of a memorial list honouring members of Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ community who have passed. Built through direct conversations with older members of the community and research through historical press, the list ensured that figures from across decades of Liverpool’s queer history were represented alongside more recently lost community members, closing with the line: “And to all who have stepped into the Love Lounge in the sky.”
PR Support
John supported the PR campaign by using existing relationships with LGBTQ+ specialist media to help place coverage in key outlets. This resulted in the event being featured in both Attitude Magazine and DIVA Magazine, the two leading national LGBTQ+ publications in the UK.
Press angles supported included the local community involvement story, the Queer Liverpool opens Pride narrative around the opening ceremony’s local talent, spotlight coverage on artists involved, and the community nominee scheme as a values-led story.
Press release drafting was led by the Liverpool Experience Campus comms team; John’s contribution was using established media relationships to support placement.
Creative Content
John organised a collaboration video between Manchester Village Pride and Liverpool Experience Campus, which reached 995 likes and was shared across both organisations’ channels, connecting two city communities ahead of the event.
A collaboration with Peaches & Cream produced a Pride makeover video reaching 7.8K views across Liverpool Experience Campus and partner social channels, combining event promotion with authentic community content.
Rehearsal behind-the-scenes content and local drag queen spotlight videos were produced and distributed via the M&S Bank Arena account, each generating strong engagement across collaborated accounts including Proudly Said.
On-the-night content published via Proudly Said reached 4.6K views, documenting the event from a community perspective.
What This Demonstrates
- Community relationship management across 30+ LGBTQ+ organisations, venues, sports clubs and businesses
- Embedded working within a major venue’s campaign team
- Structured community partner activation ensuring groups felt genuinely involved rather than tokenised
- Use of existing media relationships to support national LGBTQ+ press placement, including Attitude and DIVA
- Creative content production and collaboration including cross-city partnership video
- Sensitive community work including memorial research conducted through direct community engagement
- On-the-night content capture and distribution to an existing LGBTQ+ audience
“John brought significant value to our Liverpool Pride 2026 campaign. Leveraging his strong relationships across the region’s LGBTQ+ community, he enabled us to engage key audiences with credibility and genuine understanding.
“The community outreach activity he led was particularly impactful, helping us build meaningful connections with the people and communities at the heart of our campaign, ensuring both visibility and sincerity.”
– Joanna Rowlands, Director of Marketing & Communications, Liverpool Experience Campus
For consultancy, community engagement, PR or communications work, get in touch at hey@proudlysaid.co.uk