YORK Pride will not be going ahead this year, but will instead be replaced by a virtual event.

The event, which was due to be held on Saturday, June 5 will once again be online only this year.

A spokesman for the York Pride Committee said: "Following the announcement of the government’s roadmap to ease the current lockdown restrictions in England, we’ve worked tirelessly behind the scenes to investigate every possible option available to enable us to bring back North Yorkshire’s biggest LGBT+ celebration.

"However, our committee has unanimously agreed that there are still too many uncertainties and risks around Covid-19 and holding large public events for us to confidently proceed and host a safe and successful event of which ourselves and our community could be proud.

"This devastating decision is not one we have made lightly as we were so looking forward to getting together and delivering an amazing, inclusive event to celebrate the diversity of our community. However, our top priority is the safety of our attendees, volunteers, artists, traders and emergency services as we all continue to battle the virus and prevent new outbreaks.

"We know that many members of our LGBT+ community have been affected negatively by the pandemic, so it’s vital that we’re still all able to connect, albeit virtually, at our online Pride on June 5. When the time is right, we’re also hoping to arrange a number of smaller in-person events for later this year."