Bristol, UK will be hosting Europe’s biggest gay rugby tournament, the Union Cup 2013 on 23 – 26 May.

This year 550 gay rugby players from teams including Stockholm, Berlin, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Dublin will travel to Bristol to compete, bringing an estimated £25,000 to the city's local economy.

Tournament director David Arid said: ‘The idea of a gay and gay-friendly rugby club is to provide an accepting environment in which players can develop their sporting potential without fear of prejudice.

LGBT people in Bristol, south-west England, can look forward to a week-long festival followed by a park-based party for pride this year.

The festival of comedy, dance, theatre, film and performance from 6 July will culminate in a festival on 13 July at the Castle Park – within easy reach of the train and bus stations and close to the city’s main shopping center.

Kerry McCarthy, is not just an ordinary Labour Member of Parliament (MP). She is already established as an outspoken campaigner against the English Defence League. She has fought for the jailed all-female Russian punk band Pussy Riot and is now a willing advocate in parliament for people who are transgender.

Gay members of parliament have spoken out on equal marriage in the second reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill today (5 February).

Put forward by culture secretary and equalities minister Maria Miller, the House of Commons is debating the bill before the vote later tonight.

Stephen Williams, a Liberal Democrat who was the first openly gay MP to serve Bristol, said: ‘I was born when homosexuality was still a criminal offense.

Bridges, boats, balloons, Brunel and Banksy. This is Bristol, the city of the five ‘B’s and an ideal city for a day trip from London.

The harbor is the new stage of the Western ‘capital’. Here you can find wonderful museums, an aquarium, a 19th century ship, nice promenades and tours on boat.

But Bristol is famous also for its tiny center, with historical markets, new malls, independent shops, a splendid cathedral and young people crowding every corner.

A man is being accused of stabbing a vicar, and then surrounding the body with streamers, a Bible, and gay pornography.

Stephen Farrow, 48, admitted knifing Reverend John Suddards, 59, in a Bristol Crown Court hearing on Thursday (4 October).

The English religious leader from Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, was found lying in a pool of blood on Valentine’s Day.

When the cast of the all-star edition of ABC's Dancing With the Stars was unveiled last Friday (27 July), Pamela Anderson and Bristol Palin were asked what they thought of gay people.

Bristol's answer of 'I am not homophobic' got all the headlines and few seemed to notice that Anderson, the former star of Baywatch, Home Improvement and VIPs, had quickly said: 'I love gays!'

Bristol’s annual Pride march was lead by the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Peter Main, and made its way down Bristol’s Park Street and onto the city’s College Green where the Pride Day free outdoor festival was held.

British company The Co-Operative is sponsoring 15 gay pride events this summer after many feared cancellation from lack of funds.

Organisers of pride festivals across the UK were anxious they had to battle against the London Summer Olympics being the sponsors’ focus for 2012.

Bristol Pride boss Daryn Carter told Gay Star News: ‘It’s been a real struggle. We’ve had to be creative. People say to us that they don’t have any money but can they do something else.

Bristol Pride is back from 7 to 14 July, including a free outdoor festival.

We Are: Proud - Bristol Pride was officially launched by Bristol's Lord Mayor earlier this month and will celebrate the flourishing LGBT community in the South West of Britain.

Thousands are expected to attend the event which will showcase talent within the local comuunity. Events will include art, film, music and dance featured in various venues across the city.

Bristol’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride will take place from 7 to 15 July this year, having overcome a ‘real struggle’ to find enough money to go ahead.

Organisers of the festival in south west England say they had to battle against the Olympics being most sponsors’ focus for 2012.

The owners of a hotel in England who lost an appeal to be allowed to refuse gay couples have confirmed they may take their case to the Supreme Court or European Court of Human Rights.

Civil partners Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy were turned away from the Chymorvah Hotel near Penzance, Cornwall, in 2010 by devout Christian owners Peter and Hazelmary Bull.

In January 2011 a judge at Bristol County Court ruled that the Bulls’ behavior amounted to direct discrimination and awarded £3,600 in damages to the couple.