Warwickshire Pride will return to Leamington Spa this weekend with a "rainbow marketplace of stalls, live performances and entertainment" coming to town.

Pride will start on Saturday (August 19) at 11am with the march leaving Beauchamp Road, turning onto Clarendon Avenue and then the Parade.

The festival will then take place in the Pump Room Gardens where there will be food and drink from around the world, fairground rides and much more.

The event will run until 6pm and is completely free to attend.

Organisers said: "The Warwickshire Pride festival is a colourful celebration of LGBT+ life and culture. It also highlights the injustices that LGBT+ people still face locally, nationally and around the world.

"Pride started as a protest and Warwickshire Pride is an event rooted in that protest.

"Of course, it does have lots of fabulous things happening too.

"You can expect a Pride March, a rainbow marketplace of stalls, live performances and entertainment on stage throughout the day, food and drink from around the world, fairground rides, a trans chillout zone, bi zone, youth tent, women's tent, a quiet zone, dog show, family area and much more."

There is lots going on at Warwickshire Pride this Saturday (image via Warwickshire Pride)

The dog show will take place at the bandstand in the Pump Room Gardens and run by Coventry Building Society. The show itself will start at 12.30pm.

The categories include:

• Handsome hound
• Beautiful bitch
• Waggiest tail
• Cutest pup
• Cleverest trick
• Dog that looks most like their owner, and
• Best in show

Barker's Amusements will be providing a fun fair for the day.

Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service (WFRS) will also be joining forces with colleagues from Warwickshire Police and West Midlands Ambulance Service to "celebrate inclusion and equality" at the event.

Cllr Andy Crump, portfolio holder for community safety and fire & rescue at Warwickshire County Council, said: "Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service are thrilled to once again be part of the incredible Warwickshire Pride celebration, this time in collaboration with our colleagues from the Police and Ambulance Service.

"We believe in inclusivity and equality year-round, and this event allows us to engage with our community while celebrating these important values.

"It's also a fantastic opportunity for people to better get to know our fire and rescue service and hear about some of our most important safety tips for preventing incidents."

There will be live music, entertainment and food and drink in the Pump Room Gardens all day (image via Warwickshire Pride)

Earlier this year Warwickshire Pride was given nearly £177,000 by the National Lottery to keep a countywide support service for young people running.

The grant, from the National Lottery Community Fund, will mean the charity's Proud Youth service will continue to help local people for at least another five years.

The service sees groups run for LGBT+ young people across Warwickshire to provide a "space where you can be yourself and meet other LGBT+ people".

Warwickshire Pride also announced more pride events across the county this year, with Kenilworth having its first pride back in June.

For more information on Warwickshire Pride 2023, head to the website.