news
from July 2012

Pride Moves Venue

Monday 16th July

Following a site visit to leazes park at the weekend and concerns of more rain this week we have moved Newcastle Pride 2012 to Exhibition Park where we can ensure the event will go ahead and everyone can have a fun safe day. The event will go ahead in its entirity as originally planned just at a new location, the Parade is being re-routed and everyone should meet at Newcastle Civic Centre as planned with the Parade starting at noon. Please spread the word. We are looking forward to having a fantastic Pride this year. We will update all information on our website and watch out for directions to Exhibition Park coming soon.

Sunderland nets major festival

Wednesday 11th July

Sunderland Football Club has netted a major festival contract on Tyneside through its outdoor events management division, 1879 Events.

1879 Events, which uses the club’s expertise in major event management to run and operate off-site events, saw off competition from a number of firms to secure the tender to provide both the bars and the catering facilities at this year’s Newcastle Pride Festival.

And the awarding of the contract marks the first time a top flight football club has been a supporter of a Pride event.

The free event, on Saturday July 21 at Newcastle’s Leazes Park, will be the largest ever gathering of the region’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities and is expected to attract more than 20,000 people with live music, stalls, workshops and entertainment.

The 1879 Events team will provide food and drink outlets which will be positioned throughout the park and offer festival-goers a wide choice of catering options at a range of prices.

Gary Hutchinson, Commercial Director at Sunderland AFC, said: “We’re delighted to have won this contract, which we see as a great opportunity to really showcase our outside catering experience and to work with the Pride team.

“This is a great boost for our 1879 Events division and shows our ability to provide services at every kind of event and it’s also fantastic for us to work in the LGBT community in the region.”

Peter Darrant, chair of Northern Pride, which has organised the Festival, said: “Although we received some excellent proposals from a number of catering companies, we were particularly impressed with the creativity and value for money promised by 1879 Events.

“Food is a huge part of any outdoor event and we are confident that this year the catering, like the Festival itself, will be better than ever.”

The celebration will begin at midday when a parade will leave from Newcastle City Hall, arriving at the city’s Leazes Park at around 1pm. There a main stage will be the focus for performances from acts including Sonia, The Cheeky Girls and former Eurovision contestants Scooch.

Local artistes will also get the chance to perform and, along with the 1879 Events food and drink outlets, there will be around 40 stalls selling everything from crafts to cakes and representing a number of charities and local organisations.

The park will house a number of tents, or zones, offering advice on issues such as health and employment, there will be an area set aside for cabaret-style entertainment and a women’s tent featuring workshops and performances from female entertainers.

More information about the Newcastle Pride Festival 2012 and a free download of the events programme can be obtained at www.northern-pride.com.

HIV Home Test Kit

Thursday 5th July

The OraQuick In-Home HIV test is expected to be available from October at 30,000 American retail outlets, its manufacturer said, with the kit allowing people to obtain a result within 20 to 40 minutes.
It will be the first over-the-counter home testing kit for HIV - the virus that leads to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids).
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the company that makes the kit, OraSure Technologies, hailed the approval as a major advance in detecting Human Immunodeficiency Virus infections.
The test procedure involves taking an oral fluid sample collected by swabbing the upper and lower gums inside a person's mouth, placing the sample into the kit's developer vial and then waiting for the result.
The FDA noted that a positive result from the test does not mean a person is definitely infected with HIV but rather that an additional test should be done in a medical setting to confirm the result.
"Similarly, a negative test result does not mean that an individual is definitely not infected with HIV, particularly when exposure may have been within the previous three months," the FDA said in a statement.
The home testing kit, which detects both type 1 and type 2 HIV antibodies, could identify large numbers of previously undiagnosed infections, according to the FDA.
Clinical studies for self-testing have shown that the OraQuick home HIV test has an expected performance of 92% for test sensitivity, the percentage of results that will be positive when HIV is present.
"This means that one false negative result would be expected out of every 12 test results in HIV-infected individuals," the FDA said.
Similar testing indicates that one false positive would be expected out of every 5,000 test results in uninfected individuals, according to the FDA, which is responsible for regulating medication in the US.
A spokeswoman for OraSure Technologies said a price for the over-the-counter test kit had not been decided but it would be higher than the $17 (£11) charged for a similar product sold to hospitals, clinics and doctors.