Peter Darrant-Parkes opened Britain’s first dedicated LGBTQ+ business hub, the Pride Media Centre, in 2019 – months before COVID-19 brought the country and its economy to a virtual standstill.
But while the pandemic could not have been foreseen, the centre’s unlikely location – in an old warehouse complex in a deprived area of the northeastern city of Gateshead – was carefully considered. “We could have had a shiny office in Manchester or Birmingham within the gay scene … but actually, we found an old building, we did it up and we flew the (LGBTQ+) progressive flag and that’s made an incredible impact,” Darrant-Parkes said.