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On June 1^st, we’re launching our 5^th Annual Pride Display Competition. We invite charity retailers across the world to create and share fabulous displays, celebrating Pride and showing support for their LGBTQ+ communities.

In recent months and years, we’ve seen LGBTQ+ rights beginning to be eroded, with homophobic and transphobic abuse on the increase. Pride has always been a protest as well as a celebration, and as we belong to a sector that includes lots of members of the LGBTQ+ community, we believe in standing together and showing our support.

Once again, we’re providing some background information and resources to help you and your teams understand the significance of Pride, and to stay safe during the Pride season:

Discounted Inclusive Visual Merchandising & Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) resources

To help inspire you, and to help grow understanding of EDI more generally, we’re giving 25% off our webinar recording on Using Visual Merchandising to drive inclusivity and community engagement, as well as our brand new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion course, from now until the end of June.

The webinar recording has lots of great hints and tips on how to create an inclusive and welcoming space for everyone, all year round, and the EDI course is a brilliant introduction to the subject, suitable for all retail team members.  We also have lots of Visual Merchandising content on our site that you might find helpful

You can purchase the courses on our site, or if you’re a Charity Retail Learning subscriber, they’re absolutely free as part of your package.

How to enter

Send your pics of your Pride displays – windows, in store, pop up or online – to hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk by the 19^th of July. We’ll share your entries throughout the competition period on our YouTube channel and socials, and the winners will be announced shortly afterwards.

Staying safe

Sadly, there have been a small number of incidents where shops with Pride displays have been targeted by homophobic abuse, including vandalism and spraying over window displays.

Whilst these incidents are few and far between, your safety is the most important consideration. If you’re worried about any aspect of your or your team’s safety during Pride month, please do speak to your line manager, or check out any LGBTQ+ support groups you might have within your organisation, or in your local area.

More about Pride

• LGBTQ+ Pride began as a response to discrimination and police harassment.
• On 28 June 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn – a gay bar in New York City.
• Members of the LGBTQ+ community resisted the raid, leading to the Stonewall Uprising.
• The uprising became a major turning point in the modern gay rights movement.
• In 1970, the first Pride marches took place in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago to mark the anniversary of Stonewall.
• Early Pride events focused on visibility, protest, and equal rights during a time when homosexuality was heavily stigmatised and often illegal.
• Over time, Pride grew into a global movement representing a broader range of LGBTQ+ identities.
• Pride became both a celebration of progress and a remembrance of those lost to HIV/AIDS, hate crimes, and discrimination.
• Today, Pride includes parades, activism, performances, and community events around the world.
• The core message of Pride remains equality, dignity, resilience, and love.

Stonewall has some great resources to help you understand more about LGBTQ+ issues and lives:

• The leading charity supporting LGBTQ+ communities in… | Stonewall UK
• LGBTQ+Terms: Inclusive Glossary and Definitions | Stonewall UK
• LGBTQ+ facts and figures | Stonewall UK
• Stonewall at 50 documentary
• HRC | Being an LGBTQ+ Ally
• How to celebrate Pride Month in the workplace

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