Burnham-On-Sea Carnival Committee has issued an apology ‘for any distress and upset’ amid uproar surrounding an LGBT+ group not being allowed to take part in Monday’s Burnham Carnival.
As reported here, North Somerset LGBT+ Forum applied to enter a cart named ‘Fifty Shades of Gay (a celebration of Pride)’ in the Burnham-On-Sea Carnival.
The Highbridge & Burnham Carnival Committee wrote to the group to raise its concern about the entry’s name and also state that several carnival rules would be broken if it took part.
But amid national media coverage and comments on social media, the Carnival Committee met last night (Wednesday November 9th) to discuss its position and issue a statement.
The new statement says: “Highbridge & Burnham-On-Sea Carnival Committee would like to thank everyone who came out to support the Carnival on what turned out to be a wet and windy night – the collection raised £10,408.69. We are very pleased with this figure, as this was our first big Carnival since 2019.”
The committee previously said the group was not banned, but the entry would have breached carnival rules by featuring ‘excessive advertising’ since it had been entered into a non-commercial category of ‘Class 7 – Groups of Masqueraders.’
A letter from the Carnival Committee sent to the group outlined the position, and also included concerns about the entry’s name.
Phil New, Burnham Carnival Chairman, said on Tuesday: “There was absolutely no homophobia behind this at all. This was a case of the carnival’s rules being potentially broken with excessive advertising in a non-commercial Carnival category. We are an all-inclusive event.”
The North Somerset LGBT+ forum displayed its cart, pictured above, at Bridgwater Carnival on Saturday 5th November and it has also been given permission to use it in upcoming carnivals in Weston and Glastonbury.
Paul Stoodley, a spokesman for North Somerset LGBT+ Forum, said earlier this week: “Let’s just hope it’s a case of minor homophobia and nothing too sinister. Hopefully this can be resolved. We just want everyone to be happy and everyone to be included.”
“There was a lot of discussion backwards and forwards. Eventually there was a letter that said the committee had made the decision not to allow the charity to enter.”
“They said they had concerns how the public would react to the entry name. I drove it around Bridgwater and the feedback was amazing. We were getting cheers and we were so proud to be the first openly gay entry, as far as we are aware, on the carnival circuit.”
Mr Stoodley said they were told their entry was in breach of several rules and they had been offered the chance to adjust its entry name from Fifty Shades of Gay but had declined the offer as they did not believe the words to be offensive.
In a statement earlier this week, The North Somerset LGBT+ Forum added: “We decided to enter the iconic Somerset Carnivals this year, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the first Pride event in the UK. In September, the Forum entered three local Carnivals in Somerset; Bridgwater, Burnham & Highbridge, and Weston-super-Mare, with the entry title of “50 Shades of Gay (a Celebration of Pride).”
“In early October we received a letter from BOS Carnival Committee stating that we would not be accepted, as the title was deemed inappropriate for a family audience, and they were concerned how their audience would react. They also felt we had broken several County Carnival rules related to self-promotion and sponsorship.”
“After liaising with the county secretary and both Bridgwater and Weston Carnival, they had assured us that no rules had been broken. Burnham later backtracked and invited us to enter as a trade entry, or to enter as a charity but to change our entry name.”
“They also offered us collection duties. We politely declined these offers, as we are a charity, not a trade company and we do not believe the words we chose for our title to be offensive, and therefore will not be changing them. The Forum was thrilled to be part of Bridgwater Carnival and looks forward to attending Weston-super-Mare’s parade on November 11th.”
“A special thanks to Glastonbury Carnival is also required, as they have invited us to attend their Carnival on November 19th and we are grateful to these Carnivals for welcoming us with open arms. We hope all involved with Burnham Carnival have a fabulous night and we look forward to seeing you soon.”
“The Forum was thrilled to be part of Bridgwater Carnival and looks forward to attending Weston-super-Mare’s parade on November 11th. A special thanks to Glastonbury Carnival is also required, as they have invited us to attend their Carnival on November 19th and we are grateful to these Carnivals for welcoming us with open arms.”
Meanwhile, Burnham’s Positive Wealth Creation has said it is pulling its financial support of the Burnham Carnival as a business amid concerns around discrimination.
