Rachel Gilbert meets one of Norwich Prides founders Julie Bremner.
Julie Bremner looked up at Norwich castle and saw the rainbow flag flying over the hundreds of people that had attended the inaugural Norwich Pride. Reflecting back on years of organising Norwich Pride in various capacities, Julie recalled this as her proudest moment.
“It never ceases to amaze me when I see the impact,” Julie said. “I have a passion for putting in the time to create that impact.”
Julie is one of the founders of Norwich Pride and has worked on the event ever since the first one in 2009. She is a civil servant by day, while sitting as a trustee and treasurer for Pride and is the chair of trustees for Educate and Celebrate. She also helped found Proud Canaries, the LGBT fan group of Norwich City Football Club.
“My approach to life is to try to change the world, and have fun on the way,” Julie said.
Julie grew up in Hertfordshire in the shadow of Section 28, a series of Thatcherite laws prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality in Britain. The legislation was in place from
1988-2003.
Coming from an aspirational, working class background and left-wing household, Julie always gravitated towards activism. She was the first in her family to attend university after receiving a grant to study environmental sciences at UEA.
Julie moved to Norfolk in the 80s to attend UEA. She said the move was liberating and she was able to be herself and engage in projects she was passionate about. Julie became involved in ACT UP, the international organisation that fought to end the AIDS pandemic.
“I want to create the world we want to live in and enjoy,” Julie said. “This drew me towards activism.”
Julie has been involved in countless marches, protests and projects for social progress in various forms, all leading her to found Norwich Pride. She wanted to turn Norwich rainbow for a day, making everyone feel safe and welcome.
Each year, Norwich Pride has grown and evolved, increasing from a few hundred attendees to tens of thousands in recent years. Throughout the evolution of the event, it has remained free and accessible to all.
However, the process of hosting such an event hasn’t always been easy. Julie and the Pride team have had push back and nasty comments. “We just have to wear those damaging insults as a badge of honour,” Julie said. “So many people benefit from Pride and it can be life-saving.”
Although she has helped deliver Norwich Pride since helping found it in 2009, Julie is still as enthusiastic as ever. Having helped turn it into a charity in 2019, she now takes more of an inward facing role as Treasurer and Trustee. Julie is also the Chair of Trustees for Educate & Celebrate.
Educate and Celebrate provides guidance to schools on how to be more LGBT-friendly. It offers webinars and brings language and understanding to schools, making them more welcoming to the Queer community.
“It often surprises me how much work there still is to do,” Julie said.
Julie advised anyone looking to make a difference to just get stuck in. She recommended evaluating what you want to achieve, what time you have to give and what skill set you can contribute to a cause. She said activism is also a learning opportunity.
For Julie, she challenges herself by immersing herself in new environments and learning scenarios. She has taken up sailing alongside her ongoing projects. However, she will still be loud and proud at pride this year.
Norwich Pride expects in the region of 10,000 attendees in 2022. There will be stalls, an art exhibition, a makers’ market, Theatre Street will close for a party and the annual march will depart from City Hall.
The event has grown and evolved a lot since Julie helped found Norwich Pride in 2009, something she is very proud of. However, it is the principle of the day that makes her proudest of all. “It isn’t always about being bigger. I want it to be free, accessible and for everyone to have a good time.”