BLACKPOOL, England — Franklin Graham will be preaching at the three-night Lancashire Festival of Hope on Sept. 21–23 at the Winter Gardens Center in Blackpool, but feelings on the evangelist’s presence remain mixed.
People are expected to pack the auditorium to hear Graham, whose father, Billy Graham, visited Blackpool 36 years ago. Some 200 independent and Anglican churches have been involved in planning the event.
But many people in the town oppose Graham’s visit, citing his past comments about gay people and Islam. Blackpool has a small Muslim population but one of the largest LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) communities in Britain, with approximately 10 percent of residents identifying as LGBT.
Efforts have been underway for months to halt the festival and Graham’s appearance there. Some 8,000 people signed a petition requesting the home secretary to deny Graham entry to the country. Blackpool’s two ministers to Parliament have also expressed their concern, with one suggesting that Graham’s comments amounted to hate speech. (RNS)
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