Representatives from all other political groups attended at The Pride on the Hill event but the Democratic Unionist Party failed to offer a representative.

The festival, held at Stormont, was part of a week-long series of events which will culminate on Sunday with the annual Belfast Pride Parade. A statement released by the DUP suggested they had not been given sufficient time to respond to a request for attendance: “Party headquarters only received a request for a participant in this debate on Thursday, 21st July. Given the busy schedule of our MLAs, such short notice did not enable us to supply a speaker on this occasion.” However, it has been rumoured that DUP assembly member, Jim Wells, sent a text to one of the organisers describing the type of people who take part in these events as ‘repugnant’.

Ulster Unionist Party Member, John McCallister, claimed that the decision not to attend impacted badly on DUP leader Peter Robinson’s efforts to change the party’s image. McCallister commented, “He says he’s wanting to reach out and he claims he wants to reach out to Catholic votes, but he’s not wanting obviously to reach out to the gay community.”

The event allowed politicians to address the concerns of the LGBT community in Northern Ireland.

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