7. Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government support for Pride events in Wales? (OAQ51219)

Yes. We’ve provided funding to Plaid Cymru for many years—Pride Cymru, I should say—including this year, despite—[Interruption.] Despite budget pressures. Pride events provide opportunities for LGBT people and others to have safe, accessible spaces to celebrate.

Thank you, First Minister. I welcome Welsh Government support for Pride Cymru. Hopefully we’ll see this event going from strength to strength, and, one day in the not too distant future, host Europride here in the capital. Pride events across Wales, of course, offer an opportunity for the LGBT community, our friends and allies to come together in celebration in a space that is safe for us to be ourselves. But, while we must not be complacent, Pride enables us to have an opportunity to demonstrate support and solidarity for LGBT people, and particularly young LGBT people. That’s why I’m pleased, this year, that, in my own constituency, we hosted the first ever Flintshire Pride. I am incredibly proud now to say that Flintshire Pride has recently gained charitable status. I am very proud that they’ve asked me to be a patron, alongside Andy Bell of Erasure fame, so I hope that Pride make sure they don’t mix up who is speaking and who is meant to be singing. First Minister, will you join me in congratulating Flintshire Pride on achieving this charitable status? Of course, it would be fantastic if you were able to come and join us on 9 June next year, as we celebrate diversity and send a message of hope in our communities.

Can I thank the Member for the invitation, which of course I will consider? I can say that the Government hosted a stall at Flintshire Pride in May. It was encouraging to see such a positive, well attended and successful event. People travelled from far and wide, actually, to go there, I understand. Of course, we want to make sure that we continue to support Pride events in order to celebrate, and fight those who encourage division in our society.

First Minister, I was delighted to take part in the first Pride march in Cardiff a couple of years ago. I wasn’t coming out, by the way; I was representing my party. It was a great event, as is the Pride movement itself. Following on from what Hannah Blythyn said, these events—and I welcome Flintshire Pride—do tend to be associated, or have been in the past, with cities and urban areas, which is great as far as it goes. Will the Welsh Government look at ways of increasing the diversity and relevance of Pride across all parts of Wales, particularly rural areas, so that people from all across the country can benefit from the spirit of Pride and the freedom that it brings?

The Member is right. It has tended to be urban based, and the Minister, I’m sure, will want to work with organisations such as Pride Cymru to see how it’s possible to increase the number of events, particularly in rural areas. That, I’m sure, working with the organisation, can be achieved in time.

Over the past few days, the Iris Prize film festival has been staged here in Cardiff. It represents the largest gay film prize in the world, and the largest short film prize awarded anywhere. So, may I ask the First Minister to congratulate those people who arranged that event and the volunteers for their success? I declare an interest because I was there for most of the festival and it is being staged by a friend of mine. But can I ask you what more we can do to help the Iris festival to extend its message of pride across Wales, as we heard earlier, and particularly thinking of Welsh speakers, where there is some work to be done, I think, in bringing together this question of pride in one’s sexuality and pride in one’s language and culture?

Well, it was a pleasure to hear of that success, and we wish to ensure that we work with the organisers to see how we can enhance the event itself and the influence of that festival and how it can grow. And so I would be very happy to receive any kind of correspondence to see how we can help to build on the ideas contained in that correspondence.