HAMPSHIRE’S first Pride Parade is set to march through Winchester next Wednesday to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month.

Organised by the city university, it will leave from the Student Union after a speech from vice-chancellor Professor Joy Carter, beginning at 4pm.

Taking a back route through the city, marchers will process up the High Street, then into Jewry Street.

Stalls and street artists will greet the crowd outside the Discovery Centre, as well as a performance by Southampton Gay Men’s Chorus.

A post-Pride party is to be held at The Railway Inn, in St Paul’s Hill, from 8pm.

The event is being organised by the University of Winchester’s Spectrum Student, Staff and Allies Network and the county council’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) employee network.

“Diversity is one of the university’s key values and we are delighted to be supporting a community-led Pride event, celebrating LGBT history and diversity right on our doorstep,” said Spectrum Network spokeswoman SarahLouise Collins.

“We are keen to establish this event so that it becomes a firm fixture for the residents of Hampshire, and the LGBT community in particular.”

The evening before, the university is to host a series of talks by leading academics in the field of sexuality research.

Speakers at the symposium will discuss subjects such as mixed gender roles, homophobia, medieval cross-dressing and identities in school at The Stripe, on the King Alfred Campus, between 6pm and 9pm.

Places are free, but booking for the talks is essential.

More details are available on www.winchester.ac.uk/LGBThistory.