Guildford has become a regular fixture on the county’s Pride calendar in recent years, so it will come as a real disappointment to many to learn that the 2026 celebration won’t be going ahead as planned. Organisers have taken the decision to call off this year’s event just weeks before it was due to take place, citing a set of circumstances that they say left them with little choice in the matter. It is a blow for the many people who look forward to the day each year, even if the hope is very much that it proves to be a temporary setback rather than anything more permanent.
Why It’s Been Called Off
Pride in Surrey had been due to bring its parade and festival to the town on the eighth of August, but the team behind it has now confirmed that the day is being postponed until 2027.
Rising Costs & Lack of Sponsorship
In a statement, the organisers explained that a combination of rising costs and a decline in pledged corporate sponsorship had left them in a ‘challenging position’, ultimately making it ‘impossible to proceed with the parade and festival event’ as things stood. Guildford is far from alone in facing this particular problem, with Pride events up and down the country having been cancelled or scaled back this year as funding has become increasingly hard to come by.
Community Needs Pride Now More Than Ever
The Chief Executive of Pride in Surrey, Charlie Watts, said that the decision ‘was not made lightly’, particularly at a time when, in his words, ‘our community needs visibility and the connection of Pride more than ever’. He was keen to stress, however, that the organisation is ‘not going away’ and has already begun turning its attention towards planning for Pride 2027. For anyone who had already bought tickets to this year’s event, the good news is that those have been refunded. The postponement brings a temporary halt to an event that has run for the best part of a decade, regularly drawing hundreds of people for a march followed by music and celebration.
Back Up & Running in 2027
It is probably fair to say that the LGBTQ+ community is under attack now more than it has been for decades, with Reform councils up and down the country cancelling Pride celebrations and trans people being dehumanised whenever an opportunity for that to happen presents itself to the TERFs that see JK Rowling as some sort of cheerleader.
The organisation behind Surrey Pride has faced its share of scrutiny in recent years. For now, though, the focus is firmly on getting the day back up and running in 2027. You can read more about Pride in Surrey and what the event usually has in store in our full coverage elsewhere on the site.