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Gay villageYou are in: Birmingham > People > Gay village > Photos: Birmingham Pride 2008  Birmingham Pride 2008 Photos: Birmingham Pride 2008See our photos of the launch of Birmingham Pride 2008 and the parade protest held in Victoria Square.  Waiting for the launch The big launch - Saturday 24th MayThe Pride Festival officially began just after 3pm on Saturday 24th May 2008 in the heart of the gay village, with the main stage located next to the Nightingale Club. The Lord Mayor opened Pride 2008 and Rainbow Voices - the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual choir - sang a number of songs. Pride Parade ProtestThere was no official parade this year for Pride so members of The University of Birmingham LGBTQ Association went on their own march at 2pm.  Pride Parade Protest Holly Jane Pike, Chairman of The Association, said: "Our protest, which saw between 350 and 400 people marching down New Street from Victoria Square, aimed to beat the political apathy sweeping our nation". You can see pictures of the 'unofficial parade' by clicking the link at the top of this page.It was announced that Pride's official march would return next year "bigger and better than ever". The city's gay venues provided entertainment and numerous stalls supplied food and drink.  Eurovison PartyTo celebrate this year's Eurovision Song Contest, a host of former Eurovision stars took to the stage, performing the tracks that they represented the UK with in previous years. The likes of Brotherhood of Man, Sonia, Scooch and Bucks Fizz appeared throughout the afternoon and Pride celebrations continued into the night in the surrounding bars and clubs. Sunday 25th MayThe two-day celebrations continued with a host of pop acts taking to the main stage from 1-8pm. Headliners for the event included Swedish chart topper Basshunter, former 90s Irish girlband B*witched stars Ms Lynch, Katrina Leskanich reprising her 1997 euro-winner 'Love Shine A Light' and Pop Idol favourites The Cheeky Girls were on stage filming for their brand new reality TV series and singing all those cheeky cheeky hits.  Posing for the camera Billiam and Bearforce1The Nightingale Club's very own boyband Billiam took a short break from supporting Girls Aloud on their current arena tour to perform. Cahill's Nikki Belle performed her current chart hit 'Trippin On You', Marcella Woods from Out Of Office was on stage with her big club hits 'Hands Up', 'Beautiful' and 'Break Of Dawn'. Shanie from Alex Party is re-releasing her number 1 anthem 'Don’t Give Me Your Life' in the summer and was onstage to reliving those 90s clubbing moments. Top Russian pop star SERGEY LAZAREV made an exclusive UK appearance at the festival this year, and there was more international pop with Bearforce1 from the Netherlands. The band is made up of five bearded guys, and has become a huge gay pop phenomenon across mainland Europe.  Enjoying the sun Madge and singing SheilasMadonna fans were entertained by top US Madge impersonator Melissa Totten, back to wow crowds with her uncanny Madonna tribute show. The pink sequinned darlings of car insurance The Sheilas returned by popular demand, plus operatic hunks Teatro will brought a little class to the proceedings with their rendition of Phantom of the Opera. To see our photos from the launch of Pride 2008, and the unofficial parade, click the links below.last updated: 06/08/2008 at 18:59 SEE ALSOYou are in: Birmingham > People > Gay village > Photos: Birmingham Pride 2008 
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