BRADFORD Council is marking the fourth anniversary of the Orlando nightclub shootings today.

Friday, 12 June will mark the four-year anniversary of the mass shooting of 49 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016. Forty nine people were murdered and 53 injured in the attack against the members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Pride, Bi and Transgender flags are being flown at half mast in Centenary Square and City Hall will be lit up in Rainbow Colours in the evening as acts of remembrance

Bradford has held a memorial every year since the attack and this year is marking the day with a video on the Bradford Council YouTube channel.

The video includes contributions from Councillor Richard Dunbar, LGBTQ+ Champion , Bradford Council Leader Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council’s Chief Executive Kersten England, Charles Dacres from Bradford Hate Crime Alliance, Tom Doyle from Yorkshire Mesmac, Paul Holdsworth (AKA Marigold Addams-Bradford Drag Queen), Leon Fleming ( Bradford Pride Chair), Vicki Gillen (Candy Nightclub) & Rt Revd Toby Howarth Bishop of Bradford.

LGBT+ asylum seekers find family at Bradford's Equity Rainbow

Cllr Hinchcliffe said: “Bradford has a strong track record of standing up against discrimination and hate of all kinds.

"It is right that we mark this terrible anniversary. Sadly with Coronavirus we cannot congregate to remember as we would normally so I’m glad Cllr Dunbar has led on this alternative way of remembering.”

Cllr Dunbar said: “It is important we remember what happened at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando on the 12 June 2016. 49 people were murdered in what is the biggest attack on the LGBTQ+ community since the Holocaust.

"I wanted to make this video as a show of solidarity to the people of Orlando and as a way of remembering the 49 people who were so cruelly taken from us when they were just out having fun. It is also a reminder of the struggles that still exist in working towards true equality for the LGBTQ+ community.”

Kersten England, Bradford Council Chief Executive, said: “We are showing solidarity and compassion with people in Florida on this anniversary and remembering the victims, their families and the survivors.”

Rosie Freeman, Director of Brickbox who appears in the video said: “As a LGBTQ+ led arts organisation and venue, we remember and honour the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. We know what it means to create and hold space for people who are marginalised, and speak out against discrimination and violence. We will not stop pushing for justice, change and peace, and we send love to the friends and families of all those who died on 12 June 2016.”