THE Belfast Pride parade has been cancelled this summer and will be replaced with a virtual festival, organisers have confirmed.
The city's 30th LGBT parade was due to be held in August but has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Organisers say the main events associated with the Pride festival will instead be hosted online.
These include a virtual parade with videos and live links to people taking part at home.
An online 'party in the square' concert, Belfast Pride after party, Belfast Pride Awards and the Pride Talks Back political debate are also being scheduled.
Seán Ó Néill, chair of Belfast Pride, said: "The giant wave of colour that fills the streets of Belfast with positivity, defiance and 60,000 people just can't happen this time, so we are going to move the main events of Belfast Pride online if we can raise funding for them."
The theme for this year's festival is Rainbow Heroes, to celebrate the "full range of front-line heroes keeping us all safe and keeping society moving".
