The contents on this page are considered the terms and conditions of attending the parade at Pride Canterbury. In addition to this page, all organisations + attendees are required to adhere to our General T&Cs.

If you have any issues at the event, you should not attempt to resolve this yourself + should instead contact our team.

All parade groups, except the ‘Independent Participants’ section, have assigned group organisers who have ultimate responsibility for your group, and you should be aware of who this is.

We reserve the right to dismiss any individual or group that has entered under a false name or given false information. If you need to make any changes to a parade group application, please contact us urgently. Independent Participant Registration only requires one name for all tickets you reserve – this one name must be correct and this person is responsible for the remaining ticket holders.

Only those who are registered may walk in the parade. No one is to be pulled in from the crowds to join.

Parade Group Organisers have accepted responsibility on behalf of the entire group and are responsible for behaviour within your group. Please ensure your group is keeping the orderly flow of the parade. All groups are expected to follow the parade route according to their allocated position in the parade. Each group is expected to stay in order. Any group who tries to overtake another group will be removed from the parade. If anyone in your group does anything that is against the Terms and Conditions, all your group may be immediately withdrawn from the parade. We also reserve the right to deny the entry of your whole group into the festival site if our terms and conditions are not followed.

All timings are explained in detail in their relevant sections on this page, but in summary:

• 09:15 Parade Staging Area CLOSED for Pre-Opening Checks (08:45)

• 09:25 Vehicle(s) Arrive (KFRS 10:30)

• 09:30–10:15 Participants Arrive

• 10:15–10:45 Parade Order Checks

• 10:45–11:00 Final Checks, Begin Departure + Clear Up

• 11:00 Parade is on the High Street

• 12:00–12:30 Parade Reaches Festival Site

No parking or drop-off facilities are available – click here for travel info.

Only pre-approved vehicles may participate. Pedestrians walking with a vehicle must have a parade group and will be positioned in the Parade Staging Area — only the vehicle + driver(s) are staged separately.

Vehicles should arrive by 09:25, and please line-up in the vehicle staging area (see the map below) as per the parade order (also see below). The only exception to this is the Kent Fire Rescue Service vehicle which should arrive by 10:30 and must wait on the road to be directed by our Security Team.

After the parade, all vehicles must turn left at the Watling Street roundabout and follow Watling Street to the ring road. Vehicles entering the Festival Site will be given additional advice by the marketplace team.

Click here to review our Vehicle Terms & Conditions.

Press must have collected a press + media pass to photograph the parade. These are not available to collect at the Parade Staging Area – these must be pre-collected from the Festival Site (click here for instructions). Please see the ‘Summary of Schedule’ drop-down for all timings.

If you have been invited to the official pre-pride sponsors networking event, you will be directed to join the parade at the appropriate time. If you have been invited to this, you will also have been advised how to collect a parade wristband.

We have clear rules on water at the Festival Site. These will be enforced at the end of the parade when you arrive. However, we have no access to water for the parade so you must bring additional water for during the parade. After the parade, you will then be asked to dispose of any opened water and refill at the event. Please see the ‘What to Bring’ page for our full water policy as this explains what is and is not permitted.

For 2026 only, toilets are available in the Canterbury Umbrella Centre – adjacent to the Parade Staging Area (see map below). Please ensure you are in your group by 10:00.

The parade (and festival entrance for parade participants) is wheelchair accessible. However, please be aware that the high street can be uneven and difficult to navigate. In addition, the Parade Staging Area is grassy but flat. If the grass is difficult to navigate, please let us know when you arrive as we have alternative paved area that you can wait on (with maximum 1–2 other people).

This policy is intended to summarise existing T&C's and provide additional guidance and examples for clarity of parade participants. It is our intention not to prevent statements / messaging, but rather to add clarity to how those statements can be made inline with our mission and family friendly atmosphere.

Quantity of Placards / Banners / Flags
All participants are permitted to carry / wave placards, flags, etc, that can comfortably held / carried by a single person. Approved Parade Groups are additionally permitted one single larger banner which is a 2+ person carry. Please note, hard poles cannot be carried into the festival site and must be stored off-site or left at your own risk in the dedicated area at the Main Entrance (ask security after the parade). A VIP group that does not have an approved parade group section (this is available to VIP groups whom submit an application) on our parade order are permitted single-carry items but not a multi-person large banner.

Branding + Promotion
Independent participants are not permitted to promote any business or organisation – we refer to this as "no branding permitted", but we understand that clothing with manufacture logo's is inevitable. Approved Parade Groups may only promote the exact business or organisation name they have registered under (if a group is representing multiple organisations, this must be reflected on their parade application or will not be permitted).

Permitted Wording / Statements
Pride has political roots and we recognise that some participants may wish to display statements relating to LGBTQ+ rights, equality, or political issues.

• Statements referring to political parties, policies, campaigns, or causes are permitted.
• Statements referring to individual people are only permitted where that individual is a current elected public representative.
• Threats, harassment, discriminatory language, personal attacks, or targeted insults towards any individual or group are not permitted under any circumstances.

As Pride Canterbury is a family-friendly event, explicit sexual content, uncensored swearing, and nudity are not permitted. Mild swearing or adult wording must be self-censored where possible (for example replacing letters with symbols).

Examples:
• “Protect Trans Rights” would be permitted
• “Vote Against XYZ Policy” would be permitted
• “MPs Must Do Better” would be permitted
• Direct insults or abusive statements aimed at an identifiable individual – not permitted

Important Final Statement
It is vital to note that this policy cannot be comprehensive and it will be at the discretion of security and event management on the day of the event. In addition, this policy does not permit anything that would otherwise be not permitted by the remainder of our T&C's. If you have a particular wording you would like verified, please use the contact form on our website with the "Parade" drop-down to seek clarification; this also applies if we have indicated that something is not permitted and you think this is in error. This policy is not intended to censor important statements and we will update this policy based on enquiries received to ensure it is accurate and represents the messaging permitted.

Independent participants must not bring amplified music and this cannot be requested. Parade groups must have approval – please contact us. If approved, they may be used when the parade is on the high street at a sensible volume, but not in the Parade Staging Area. We reserve the right to stop or reduce the volume at any time.

After the parade, you must either store the speaker off-site, or you may leave this at your own risk at Pride HQ (please label your speaker before arriving). We cannot take responsibility for any damage or theft from storing these at Pride HQ. You may not carry speakers around the festival site and you must turn off the speaker before passing the festival site entrance. Those not arriving with the parade will not be able to leave speakers at Pride HQ.

No objects or handouts may be given out at any time. No participants may accept objects, handouts, or donations. Permission cannot be requested as these restrictions are for safety, security, and environmental reasons. You may book a place in our marketplace if you wish to handout materials.

No large gaps between parade groups of more than 2 metres. Please aim to keep only a small sensible gap between groups wherever possible (in both the parade staging area and on the parade route). All participants are required to maintain a continuous forward motion during the parade. No stopping unless we direct you otherwise. All performances must be “on the move”.

In an emergency, please follow all instructions provided by security. If you have or witness a medical issue during the parade, please notify the nearest member of security. We have a medical vehicle at the rear of the parade, and walking medics, which can provide medical attention. If for any reason you need to leave the parade while it is in motion, then please step clearly out of the parade procession and seek advise – you will not be able to re-join.

Anyone with a parade wristband will enter the Pride Festival through a dedicated entrance and via another security checkpoint with additional bag checks (see ‘What to Bring’). If you are not joining us in the Pride Festival, or you are a spectator, you will be directed away from the parade into Whitefriars, immediately prior to passing under the bridge that joins Primark and Whitefriars/Tesco (and prior to Watling Street Roundabout).

If you leave the parade for any reason (including for storing items), your parade wristband will no-longer be required and you will only be able to enter the Festival Site through the Main Entrance (except for VFP Ticket Holders).

Hard poles are not permitted in the festival – you may leave banners, placards, and hard poles, in our dedicated area near the main entrance – look for the sign “Parade Placard / Banner Storage” – ask if you can’t see it. This is left at your own risk – we cannot take responsibility for damage or theft.
Please see the 'Amplified Music' dropdown for alternative storage for speakers.