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ON OUR RADAR

Rainbow Fayre

Exeter Phoenix and Exeter Pride present a one-day celebration featuring live music, performance, stalls, food and the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

Leigh Curtis

Exeter Phoenix and Exeter Pride are co-hosting a one-day celebration with live music, performance, dancing, DJs and more on Saturday 13 May.

Rainbow Fayre begins with a Big Queer Terrace Party with DJ Louie Louie while Exeter Pride takes over the main auditorium for an afternoon of live music and performances.

There will also be stalls, local street food and Exeter’s first drag king competition.

Rainbow Fayre, Saturday 13 May 2023 at Exeter Phoenix

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be streamed live from Liverpool on a big outdoor screen during the evening, and will be followed by a silent disco after party.

The event is taking place on the day of what would have been the annual Exeter Pride celebration which organisers were forced to cancel due to a lack of volunteer co-ordinators and stewards.

Rainbow Fayre takes place from 12pm-2am on Saturday 13 May 2023 at Exeter Phoenix and is free to attend.

For more information visit the Exeter Phoenix website.

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Exeter In Brief

Exeter City Council has been awarded £20 million of government PRIDE IN PLACE funding to be spent over the next ten years in Heavitree and Whipton. It says it will set up a dedicated board with Exeter MP Steve Race to “bring together residents, councillors, local organisations and partners to identify priorities and guide how the funding is used”. Monday 23 March 2026

An Exeter City Council bid to become 2029 UK CITY OF CULTURE has failed, as have rival bids by Plymouth and Bristol. The council announced its intention to submit a bid in late January at a promotional event which opened with a speech from council CEO Bindu Arjoon just two weeks after she presented a report claiming the council did not have sufficient capacity to hold this year’s local elections. The council’s previous city of culture bid also failed. The repeatedly-delayed replacement for Exeter’s cultural strategy, which expired two years ago, is currently scheduled for adoption in August. Friday 21 March 2026

Hire-by-the-hour car club CO WHEELS, which operates in 63 towns and cities in England and Scotland, has launched a scheme in Exeter with five low-emission hybrid vehicles located in Southernhay, Powderham Crescent, College Road, Polsloe Road and Bartholomew Street West. Devon County Council has been trying to procure a new countywide car club provider since the collapse of Exeter-based shared mobility provider Co-Cars, which ceased trading in July 2023 along with shared bike scheme Co-Bikes. Thursday 19 March 2026

On Our Radar

Exeter Pride 2019 in Exeter High Street, photo by Naomi Parkinson

SATURDAY 9 MAY 2026

Exeter Pride 2026

Exeter Pride returns for a celebration of LGBTQ+ diversity and visibility with a parade, music, cabaret, marketplace and more.

EXETER CITY CENTRE

Thursday 30 April 2026

SUNDAY 17 MAY 2026

Fore Street Flea 10th anniversary

Market returns for 2026 season with stalls selling vintage items, jewellery, crafts, clothing, records, food and drink.

FORE STREET

Friday 17 April 2026

FRIDAY 22 MAY 2026

The Dreaming

Debut show from theatre company Thresh & Bray explores the convergence of personal experience, ancestral threads and nature.

EXETER PHOENIX

Friday 24 April 2026

When, where and how to vote in the 2026 Exeter local elections

Our guide to casting your ballot in person, by post and by proxy as well as voter ID requirements and regulations for casting postal votes.

Wednesday 29 April 2026

Exeter local elections campaign materials

Help hold Exeter’s political parties and politicians to account during the 2026 local elections

Send us campaign materials as this year’s contest enters its final week so we can fact-check candidates’ claims and hold them to their pledges after the votes have been counted.

Wednesday 29 April 2026

Centre for Cities Outlook 2026 chart comparing best and worst performers on economic growth and living standards since 2013

Centre for Cities finds Exeter economic growth and living standards performance among worst in country’s 63 largest places

Council leader Phil Bialyk celebrates rapid Exeter population rise but fails to mention think-tank findings on falling disposable incomes, declining living standards, low wages and unaffordable housing – or impact of student numbers on population figures.

Saturday 14 March 2026

Exeter City Council leader Phil Bialyk and deputy Laura Wright at the Palace of Westminster

Exeter local elections to go ahead in May after government cancellation U-turn

Secretary of State Steve Reed withdraws decision following legal advice in face of Reform UK High Court challenge, leaving city council leader Phil Bialyk facing electoral oblivion.

Monday 16 February 2026

Phil Bialyk speaking at Exeter City Council 13 January 2026 Guildhall meeting

Exeter City Council leader Phil Bialyk hides behind flimsy CEO capacity claims to contrive local elections cancellation

Labour councillors plumb new depths to cling to power – and personal financial gain – as government-backed contempt for democracy enables seven of eight executive members to avoid ballots in their wards until council abolition in 2028.

Saturday 31 January 2026

Exeter Rugby Group reports £10.3 million losses as Exeter Chiefs seeks new investor

Losses include £6.2 million loan write-off associated with Sandy Park Hotel owned by club chairman Tony Rowe.

Saturday 24 January 2026

Spotlight

Dawlish Warren and Exe Estuary mouth sandbanks

Exeter City Council is about to seize the helm of Exe estuary maritime life: will it steer it onto the rocks?

Charges for waterways access are set to be imposed from the quay and canal basin to the coast under proposed Harbour Revision Order powers after six years of rising costs propelled by pursuit of Port Marine Safety Code compliance. They risk driving away craft of all sizes, from kayaks to yachts, while redevelopment threatens canalside land – but it’s not too late to change course.

Sunday 30 November 2025, updated 5 December 2025