The Medway Pride Festival thrilled crowds at the weekend with live acts taking centre stage at the historic castle.

On Saturday, performers and residents took to Rochester High Street for the pride parade – alongside the popular fringe festival.

For the main event, the castle grounds were open from 10.30am – with live performances from a number of local, national and internationally-recognised acts.

The line-up included Angie Brown, Kelly Wilde, Sarah Jayne as Dolly Parton, Snow White Trash, Melissa Totten as Madonna, Electric Blue, Jade Goodard, Jayne Snow and Eva Iglesias.

Medway's first pride parade took place along the High Street at 10.45am.

It included local LGBTQ+ community performances, along with organisations and Medway residents.

Bloco Fogo Samba Band, Mandiga Arts, and drag and burlesque company, The Loco Cabaret, all took part in the parade.

Pride began in the US following the Stonewall riots in 1969 which triggered a week of protests and rioting by people from the gay community, who were fed-up of being harassed by the authorities.

In the UK, being homosexual was a crime until 1967. In 2013, the Marriage Act was passed which legalised same-sex marriages.

Run by volunteer group Medway Pride CIC, the first Medway Pride event was held in 2019 and is an ongoing free community celebration.

Group chairman Hilary Cooke said: "From all the messages people were sending me and comments on social media, I think everyone really enjoyed the event.

"We aimed to break down barriers – once minority communities are visible, there's no more fear of difference.

"It fulfilled everything we wanted it to achieve and was a celebration that brought people together."

She added: "Being the first pride march in Medway, it was a very historic day. Everyone was so emotional carrying the LGBTQ+ flags.

"We expected to have around 3,000 people, but roughly 4,000 attended the event."