Proud and Palace has been the club’s official LGBTQ+ supporter group since 2016. In that time we have been involved in Pride events several times, but our Croydon Pridefest 2022 celebrations were among our best yet. A group of 20 Proud and Palace members, club employees, and members of our women’s team took part in the march along Croydon High Street to Wandle Park.
There the club provided us with an official stall where we chatted to Palace fans all day, gave out some hot-ticket merchandise, and had fans pose in our ‘Palace for All’ selfie frame throughout the day. A limited run of Proud and Palace bucket hats and t-shirts, along with our group’s flags and banners, made sure no one could miss us in the parade.
The flags later gravitated to the stage area as the group brought some summer festival energy to the event, with acts including local musicians and drag artists adding to the party atmosphere.
Proud and Palace member Dave Etheridge commented: “It was so important for Crystal Palace F.C. to be represented in Croydon Pride because there is still a stigma within the LGBTQIA+ community that football is a purely heteronormative space, and is unwelcoming for our community - but nothing could be further from the truth.
“We all know that if you're a Palace fan, and you sit in our stands with your Palace shirt on, then you're part of our beautiful family. We want to show our community that you can support your club freely and openly.”