The largest gay and lesbian event in the country organised by Birmingham Pride will be without its crowd-pulling party piece this year - the famous parade that winds round the city centre and ends in the gay village.

Phil Oldershaw, Birmingham Pride spokesman said: "There was pressure on us this year to put back the parade until early evening rather than in the afternoon, which is when we’ve always held it.

"Some groups were objecting to the road closures. We decided that this different time would stop it being a community event, so we took the decision to scrap it this year.

"However, we can promise that the events planned in the gay village and the stage acts will more than compensate for the parade because we have some headline artists planned and a wide variety of community groups performing. Birmingham City Council’s events unit have been spot on and helped us every step of the way."

Source: http://www.birminghammail.net