I love Redruth. I think it’s brilliant. It’s always had this sort of image, because people were so mean about it. “There’s nothing to do, don’t bother going there.” But this myth needs to be dispelled, writes Cornwall Pride CEO Matthew Kenworthy Gomes.

Redruth Pride is a highlight, but this part of Cornwall is certainly on the LGBTQ+ map now. There is Stargazy FC, which is based just down the road in Hayle. They won the Football v Homophobia national award for Grassroots Organisation of the Year.

And you’ve got Ginger’s Diner as well, on Bond Street. It is, we think, the only drag queen café outside London.

We’ve also got a new Pride Leads project, which is all about new, regular meetings across different towns where Pride is situated. This will be up and running here soon.

Redruth and Camborne Pride are both personally my favourite Prides out of everything that we do across Cornwall. It feels real.

How do we celebrate that realness and tell more people about it? It is about bringing diverse types of people together from all different social backgrounds, being safe and amazing, expecting the unexpected, and allowing it.