Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups and organisations are being asked to come forward to take part in this year’s Oxford Pride festival.

For the first time, more than a week of events celebrating the gay community will be held leading up to the colourful city centre parade and party on Saturday, June 6.

And organisers are hoping to bring together as many different parts of the community to join in the festivities as possible.

Oxford Pride chairman Mazz Image said: “There are lots of LGBT organisations in Oxford and years ago there used to be a community centre which they were all centred around. But since it closed a couple of years ago, the community has dissipated a little bit.

“We were thinking this year, with it being the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion in New York, this would be a good time to celebrate 40 years of the movement and invite all the community groups in Oxford to put on an event as part of the festival.”

The festival will start on Friday, May 27, and go on until Sunday, June 7, including exhibitions, films and picnics as well as the main event at Oxpens Field, with the theme of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion and flower power.

The Stonewall Rebellion was heralded as the start of the gay rights movement, and started from a routine police raid on a New York gay bar.

The raid led to widespread rioting and protests against police brutality, persecution and oppression.

This will be the seventh Oxford Pride and the second to feature a parade, the route of which is yet to be confirmed.

Ms Image said: “We are looking at things like having a couple of history walks, the LGBT societies at the universities are going to organise a hippy garden party and we are looking at perhaps having a conference.

“At the moment we are calling for different groups within Oxfordshire to get in touch with us if they would like to be part of the festival.”

Last year 150 people took part in the parade and between 4,000 and 5,000 attended the party at Oxpens. It is estimated upwards of 15,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people live in the city.

Miss Image said: “We are trying to broaden people’s awareness of the community and the spectrum of Oxford Pride so that it becomes more of an umbrella event to celebrate the diversity of the community and provide a forum for different groups to come together.

“What I would like most of all from the festival is to be surprised by the variety of events that we can bring together because I know there are a lot out there.”

Anyone who would like to be involved in the event should go to oxfordpride.org.uk, email enjoy@oxfordpride.org.uk or phone Ms Image on 07875 515499.