Gaycation Editorial

East Coast Pride Opens Tower Gardens at 11:00 on 12 September

East Coast Pride is in Tower Gardens, Skegness on Saturday 12 September 2026, from 11:00 to 19:00. Entry is free and no ticket is needed. Our event page covers what the day is and who runs it; the charity has since published the full running order.

The running order

The Pride Park Stage opens with the gates at 11:00 and runs eighteen slots without a break. The afternoon is largely local: two theatre schools, a dance academy, the Out Loud Lincoln LGBTQIA+ Choir at 14:40, and the two winners of the charity's own talent contest, DeDe at 12:25 and Veon Brat at 14:25. Drag runs through it, with Sue De Creme at 16:20 and Jenna G at 15:20, both of whom also host. The last two slots are the booked headliners, Michael Marouli of RuPaul's Drag Race UK at 17:30 and the Take That tribute act Re-Take That at 18:15. The full list with times is on the organiser's main stage page.

The rest of the site

Three areas run alongside the stage all day: a market, a family entertainment area sponsored by Butlin's, and a Fun Zone aimed at younger children with a tea cup ride, a paratrooper ride, trampolines, inflatables and side stalls. The Fun Zone can close temporarily in high winds. The charity's event director, Bradley Johnson, has said publicly that the Fun Zone is the part of this year's programme he is proudest of, which is a fair signal of who the day is built for. VIP packages are sold separately, and nobody needs one to get in.

Access and getting there

There is a welfare area on site for shade or a break, and a dedicated accessible viewing area near the main stage, at ground level on grass, first come first served. Accessible toilets are at Tower Gardens, North Parade, Tower Esplanade, the Hildreds Centre and the train station. Assistance animals are welcome on a lead. Blue badge holders can use the council car parks, which have level access, though the organisers warn they fill up. There is no strobe lighting, but stage lighting effects and pyrotechnics are used. You may bring your own seating.

Skegness has its own railway station, reached from Nottingham by way of Grantham and Boston, and the seasonal Seasider buses run roughly every ten minutes from Easter to October.

After it, and what else is on

The official after party takes over Three Monkeys Bar from 20:00 and runs late, free to get in, over 18s only with photo ID under Challenge 25, and first come first served on capacity. Mamma Bear hosts and DJs, with Jenna G, Sue De Crème, Chiana Mai and Suki Soul.

Two other Prides fall on the same Saturday within reach: Derby Pride, 126 km away in Markeaton Park and ticketed, and Chorlton Pride in Manchester at 178 km. The United Kingdom scores 43.9 out of 100 on ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Index, a good deal lower than most of western Europe, and our United Kingdom country page sets out the legal picture behind it.

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