THOUSANDS of people came out in colour as Southampton had its first Pride event.

It was the first time the city has held a pride since 1996, and people of all ages showed their support for the event which celebrates the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual community in the city.

West Marlands Road was transformed into a riot of colour, as people didn’t let blustery winds and torrential downpours put them off from celebrating the event.

Hundreds wore face paint and proudly adorned the colours of the rainbow flag, and it wasn’t just the LGBT community who turned out in forces as families and people of all backgrounds gathered to show their support and enjoy the event.

As reported by the Daily Echo there were moves to set up a Southampton Pride event in 2012, before transgender activist and organiser Chrisie Edkins tragically died.

But after the Orlando shooting in June this year, in which 49 people were killed at a gay club in Florida, organisers Vie Portland, Julieanne Watling-McCarthy, Daniel Harris and Michael Ghee decided to set up an event for Southampton’s LGBT community.

Vie Portland said: “We made it a free event – we wanted everyone to feel like there is no barrier and if we get the same support from organisations and the council again we want to do it again.

“It’s wonderful looking around and everyone is smiling and we’ve had people come up to me saying thank you for doing this.”

Cabinet member for communities, culture and leisure Satvir Kaur said to crowds of people as she kicked off the event how important it is to rid the city of racism and bigotry.

She told the Daily Echo: “What Southampton Pride is about is the city celebrating its diversity in its communities which includes the LGBT community.

“While I have every confidence and I am really excited that today is going to be really colourful and a lot of fun there is also a seriousness to it as well, and that is raising awareness and standing in solidarity with the LGBT community especially this year after the Orlando attack.

“Hate crime is something we are really trying to tackle and over 50 per cent of that is against gay and lesbian people so we need to keep fighting the fight for equality.”

Mayor of Southampton Cathie McEwing said: “It is absolutely brilliant; it is something we need to show as a city – our intolerance towards hate crimes.”

Southampton Labour cabinet member for transformation projects Chris Hammond said the event is important for the city.

He said: “I think it is important for everyone to celebrate the beautiful diversity we have got in this city.

“We can see the wide range of people that are here and it is really encouraging to see young people here which shows the community coming together.“With the Orlando attack and rising hate crime it is important to be visible and have pride of our place in the city.”