WORLD favourite tribute act ABBA Magic will headline this year's Colchester Pride which for the first time is twinning with Italy's Vicenza Pride.

While the line-up for the two stages are still being announced, band Stiff in the Morning is booked to perform.

CP19, as the event has been coined, is for the "LGBTQ+ community and its allies", organisers have said, and will be an accessible, inclusive, family-friendly day of arts and education.

This will be achieved through a combination of music and entertainment, cabaret, keynote speakers, charity stalls, workshops and spoken word performances.

Co-chairman Peter Greening said: "Building upon the success of Colchester Pride 2017 and Colchester Has Pride 2018, the committee is dedicated to producing an event that welcomes people however they identify, irrespective of sexuality, age, ethnicity, gender or disability.

"This is written into our constitution.

"Our ethos is CP19 could, and should be, much more than just a gathering of solely LGBTQ+ people.

"We believe it should be a day of celebration and education for the whole of Colchester and beyond, helping to break down stigma and discrimination."

The new 13-strong organising committee represents the full LGBTQ+ spectrum including those who identify as non-binary, trans-masculine and trans-feminine - which describes people who do not identify with their birth sex.

They want Pride to have a lasting impact in Colchester, beyond the annual event, which starts by ensuring the town "recognises the LGBTQ+ calendar".

He said: "It was agreed to keep it as a community event this year but to turn it into a charitable organisation next year and then a charity.

"We believe Pride should be self-sustaining and should help the community throughout the year not just Pride day."

Ways to achieve this will be through continued collaboration with Essex University's LGBTQ+ alliance, Outhouse East's youth group and international Pride events.

There is also the Pride Players, an amateur dramatics group the committee want to launch which would also help bring funds into the kitty, which started at zero.

Despite this the committee has managed to pull in nearly £2,000 for the summer event on June 29, which includes a loan from Outhouse East.

Peter has his hopes on securing sponsorship and a Big Lottery grant.

It is a worry, Peter said, being so close and not having achieved major funding yet, but a challenge he and the team are determined to overcome.

He said: "There were over 11,000 hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community between 2016 and 2017, according to the Home Office, so hate crime and inequality is still very big regardless of the strides we've made in becoming more accepted.

"As long as there's discrimination, stigma, inequality and criminalisation of same-sex love, there will always be a need for Pride."

Tickets are on sale now at outsavvy.com. Also visit colchesterpride.lgbt.