01 Jul 2026
The organiser of London Colney’s first-ever Pride event has praised the village community for rallying around and making it a success despite earlier security concerns about hate speech and the removal of banners.
Hundreds of people came together at Shirley’s Roadhouse on Shenley Lane, London Colney for Loud & Proud — a community Pride celebration that just weeks earlier had been called off following a wave of homophobic comments on social media.
Local councillor Liz Needham explained: “When I first started talking to people about the idea of bringing a Pride event to London Colney, I hoped it would be something that the whole community could get behind. What happened over the past few weeks has shown exactly why events like this matter.
“Faced with adversity, local residents, businesses, volunteers and organisers came together to make Loud & Proud happen, and the result was an incredible day full of positivity, inclusivity and community spirit. I’m enormously grateful to everyone who played a part, especially Chris and Shirley Phillips for opening their venue and helping turn the idea into such a successful reality. I hope this is just the beginning of a proud new tradition for London Colney.”
The event featured tribute acts such as Run For Queen, Xtina Live, Forever Elton, Absolute Britney and was hosted by Tate McGay. St Albans Mayor Cllr Matt Fisher was also in attendance as special guest in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Hertfordshire Police were highly supportive throughout, working with organisers to ensure the event could go ahead safely, and officers attended on the day.
Local businesses rallied to provide financial sponsorship and Herts Tool Hire provided all of the portable toilets for free. Other businesses supported the event by paying for a £150 banner to inject money into the event, including Radlett Netball Club, Elwood Recruitment, Strong Roots Forest School, Needham Accountancy Ltd, Boot Cantina, Ibēros and Dylans at The Kings Arms, with Brunswick Press printing them at the last minute.
St Albans council’s inclusivity team were there to hand out useful information as were Strong Roots
School providing shelter from the sun for families of LGBTQ+ community providing games and glitter painting.
Clive Duffey from national LGBTQ+ campaign Ask For Clive was also in attendance, hailing the day a huge success and a super fringe event for Herts Pride.
Loud & Proud 2 will be back in 2027 on Saturday June 19 – tickets on sale soon.
