Thank you for your interest in tendering for one of the services listed below. As part of the process, we are seeking interest from suppliers who wish to supply services to Belfast Pride in relation to the Pride Festival which takes place during the last week of July. After the closing date of 19th February, we will acknowledge receipt of all registrations of interest in tendering. The full tender specification and tender forms will be sent out in the following weeks.

Tenderers from previous years will automatically be registered, but we would welcome any confirmation of interest from such suppliers. Canvassing will disqualify.

Outlined below is a brief description of each service for which we are seeking interest.

FESTIVAL OUTLINE
2010 will be the 20th year of Belfast Pride. The Festival consists of a week long series of events, culminating in the annual Parade through Belfast City Centre and the Party in the Square, which will take place in Custom House Square on Saturday 31st July.

Setup commences on Thursday evening, and continues through Friday and early Saturday morning. De-rig is on Saturday evening (post 8pm) and Sunday. This will be our fourth year in the Square, and we expect another capacity crowd of 5,000 people.

We are thus subject to regulations from Belfast City Council Building Control department, PSNI, DSD and other bodies. We expect suppliers to be familiar with such regulations and may give preference to those who are able and willing to assist us in meeting and exceeding such regulations.

PRINTING
We have numerous pieces for artwork which will be required in the run up to the festival. These include Litho printed A5 booklets, A2, A3 and A4 posters and flyers, with and without lamination. It will be expected that applicants will confirm an approximate price for each job as required in the specification which will be valid until 1st August 2010. Design and artwork for this is produced internally and thus is not required.

SOUND
We require an adequate temporary sound installation to meet the needs of Custom House Square. Further details will be provided to all applicants including expected requirements of performers and acts. Previous experience of large scale concerts is a requirement. It is envisaged that the successful tender will also provide operatives for the day, who will work under the control of our producer / director.

STAGING AND RIGGING
We require outdoor staging and rigging to meet the needs of Custom House Square. Further details will be provided to all applicants including dimensions and size requirements.

SITE CLEANSING and RUBBISH DISPOSAL
We require supply of Eurobins or equivalent, including delivery, collection and disposal. We also require litter pickup and disposal. The layout of Custom House Square is suitable for mechanical collection (e.g. a road sweeper), but we also require manual cleaning of areas not accessible by machine. The main litter pickup commences around 9pm on Saturday. In previous years, Eurobin collection has been early on Monday morning.

MARQUEES, TABLES AND CHAIRS
We require several large and smaller marquees to house community and statutory groups who will be exhibiting throughout the afternoon. Suppliers will be required to install and set up on Friday or early Saturday morning with de-rig on Saturday evening. We also require tables and chairs, again including delivery and collection.

TOILETS
We require provision of portable toilets, including units with disabled access. For the past two years, we have found that urinal units are effective in avoiding long queues. Suppliers will be required to deliver on Friday and collect after 8pm on Saturday.

PORTACABIN HIRE
We require one to two large portable offices to act as site office and dressing area. These should be lockable and have the option for heating, lighting and mains supply.

SECURITY SERVICES
We require security staff for Party in the Square. Overnight guarding will be required on Friday and Saturday nights. On Saturday, security staff are required for crowd control, security at all entrances and exits, searching of patrons and removal of disruptive patrons. Staff will be required to help steward on the Parade under the control of the Parade Manager. We also require liaison with PSNI, and training in stewarding techniques for senior Pride volunteers.

FENCING
We require perimeter fencing for Custom House Square, including delivery, installation and de-rig. We also require movable crowd control barriers and front of stage security barriers.

GENERATOR HIRE
We require generator hire, including delivery and collection. We require both 100+ KVA models to power stage and sound equipment, and smaller portable models for use on floats in the Parade. The latter may involve a call-off contract to be utilised directly by Parade entrant organisations, but with a single delivery and collection via Belfast Pride.

FIRST AID
We require qualified and insured first aid response at Custom House Square from 12pm until 8pm on Saturday. We also require First Aid cover for the Parade.

BAR TENDER
We require fully licensed bar services during Party in the Square on Saturday. Suppliers must have experience of outdoor events, and must be able to comply will all Council and PSNI requirements, including exclusive serving in plastic glasses.
Please note that the successful tenderer will be expected to make payment to Belfast Pride. Profit sharing arrangements will be considered, but a minimum guaranteed payment would be required.

FOOD PROVISION
We require provision of food services during Party in the Square. This includes hot food (such as burgers, chicken, chips and vegetarian alternatives) and ice cream vending.
Please note the the successful tenderer will be expected to make payment to Belfast Pride.

TENDERS FOR MULTIPLE SERVICES and EXCLUSIVITY
We welcome tenders from suppliers who can provide more than one of the categories above, especially where savings can be achieved on costs such as delivery and collection. We also welcome small suppliers - e.g. we may agree an ice cream van separate from other food provision. We also commit to clarity on any duplication of provision, e.g. soft drinks might be sold by both bar supplier and food supplier, or we may agree exclusive supply by one supplier.

OTHER SERVICES
We would also welcome prospective applications from suppliers of services that we may not have considered but which might be of interest to a crowd of 5,000 people of mixed gender and across all age ranges. Any supplier able to guarantee sunshine all day on Saturday 31st July will be able to charge a significant premium for their services!

TENDER PROCESS
At this time, we are seeking expressions of interest from suppliers who are willing to tender and wish to receive formal tender invite documentation. We welcome expression by email to tender@belfastpride.com and also welcome brochures, price lists etc by post addressed to Niall Gillespie, Belfast Pride, 9-13 Waring Street, Belfast BT1 2DX.

Tender selection will be performed by members of the Pride Committee with relevant knowledge of the tender area, using a scoring system including factors such as cost and demonstrable experience in similar events. Contracts will be committed to in writing clearly demonstrating the expectations on both sides.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Pride is celebrated around the world near the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969, which were the start of the modern fight for equality of rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people. Belfast Pride will expect all suppliers to respect the rights of all LGBT people, and to provide management personnel and front-line staff who excel at their job and are comfortable working with a mixed crowd, who may or may not be LGBT. Homophobic remarks or attitudes will not be tolerated from any supplier staff - suppliers will be expected to remove such staff immediately and to provide a replacement. Previous suppliers have greatly enjoyed working with the LGBT community, and we expect 2010 to be the same.

VAT and OTHER COSTS
Belfast Pride is a charitable body and is not registered for VAT, so VAT on goods and services is a cost to us. Please help us by clearly stating whether any costs are subject and include VAT and make clear any extras such as delivery charges. We also have advertising opportunities in our Pride Guide and on screen advertising throughout the day, though which we hope to have an increased viewers and readers this year, and are willing consider donations in kind against advertising in our Guide.

FEEDBACK
This is the first year that Belfast Pride has advertised for tenderers and invited expressions of interest. Belfast Pride is run entirely by volunteers. We are assisted by the staff of Cara-Friend and The Rainbow Project in the Belfast LGBT Centre, but have no paid staff of our own. So please both forgive us if we do not meet your expectations, and let us know how we can improve.