Pride in London is an annual
LGBT pride
LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...
festival and
parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
held each summer in London, England. The event, which was formerly run by Pride London, is sometimes referred to as London Pride.
Pride in London celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) communities with the colourful Pride in London Parade, as well as the free festivity events that take place in Trafalgar Square. This event brings together thousands of people of all genders, ethnicities, sexualities, and also many people of different races.
It is one of the longest running in the country and attracts an estimated 1.5 million visitors to the city. The festival's events and location within London vary every year however the
Pride parade
A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
is the only annual event to close London's iconic Oxford Street. The 2015 Gay Pride Parade through the streets of London attracted 1 million people, making it the 7th largest gay event in the world and the largest Gay Pride Parade and Gay event ever held in the UK, and the 2019 Pride attracted over 1.5 million people, making it the biggest Pride in the UK.
History
Pride has been organised by several organisations since the first official
UK Gay Pride
LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...
Rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sports ...
which was held in London on 1 July 1972 (chosen as the nearest Saturday to the anniversary of the
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...
of 1969) with approximately 2,000 participants. The first marches took place in November 1970 with 150 men walking through Highbury Fields in North London.
In 1981, the usual Pride march and rally was not held in London, decamping to Huddersfield instead as an act of solidarity with the Yorkshire gay community who claimed that
West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England and Wales by number of officers.
History
West Yor ...
were harassing them by repeatedly raiding the Gemini Club, a leading nightclub in the North of England at the time.
In 1985 representatives from mining groups joined the
Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners
Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) was an alliance of lesbians and gay men who supported the National Union of Mineworkers during the year-long strike of 1984–1985. By the end of the strike, eleven LGSM groups had emerged in the UK ...
group (LGSM) on the march. This was in recognition of the support given to striking miners by LGSM.
The controversy of
Section 28
Section 28 or Clause 28While going through Parliament, the amendment was constantly relabelled with a variety of clause numbers as other amendments were added to or deleted from the Bill, but by the final version of the Bill, which received R ...
from 1988 led to numbers increasing on the march in protest.
Since 1983 the march was called "Lesbian and Gay Pride" and by the 1990s it had become more of a carnival event, with large park gatherings and a fair after the marches.
For 1996, following a vote by the members of the Pride Trust, the event was renamed "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride" and became the largest free music festival in Europe.
In 1992, London was selected to hold the first
Europride with attendance put at 100,000; London again held Europride in 2006 with an estimated 600,000 participants.
In 1998, the Pride Trust became insolvent and no event was organised that year, it was believed by some that the decision to make it a ticket only event played a role in the 1998 event not happening.
For the next few years, another commercial organisation ran what it called 'London Mardi Gras' before it failed to pay its bill for the use of Hyde Park and was unable to run any more events without clearing that debt.
'Pride London' was formed in 2004, since then a political rally in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
has been held straight after the parade, and more recently Pride London has organised several other events in the centre of London on Pride Day including the
Big Gay Out
Big Gay Out is an LGBT, LGBTQ festival in New Zealand, Aotearoa/New Zealand. It has been running in Auckland, New Zealand since 2000. The event was founded by the Hero Festival, but is now organised by the Burnett Foundation Aotearoa.
During th ...
music festival in
Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
in 2004, and in 2006 'Drag Idol' in
Leicester Square
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
, a women's stage in Soho and a party in
Soho Square
Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered s ...
.
In 2004, it was awarded registered charity status.
The 2012 event was
WorldPride
WorldPride, licensed by InterPride and organized by one of its member organizations, is an event that promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ pride) issues on an international level through parades, festivals and other cult ...
,
though this was to be the last event organised by Pride London.
In late 2012, a group of individuals from within the LGBTQ community formed London LGBT+ Community Pride, a registered
community interest company
A community interest company (CIC, colloquially pronounced "kick") is a type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005 under the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, designed for social ente ...
, and the company organised the Pride in London festival and parade in 2013. The organisation has been awarded a contract to organise Pride in London for five years by the
Greater London Authority
The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...
, together with funding of £500,000 over five years.
The first International Asexual Conference was held at the 2012 World Pride in London.
Recent Events
2022 - #AllOurPride
After two years of cancelled events due to COVID-19 restrictions, The 2022 parade occurred on 2 July 2022. 2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Pride march within London organised by the
Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK and Canada. The GLF provided a ...
in 1972. The 2022 parade was led by members of the GLF who had attended the 1972 parade.
2021 (Cancelled)
On 26 February 2021, it was announced that Pride in London will be going ahead on the weekend of 11 September 2021.
In August 2021, the event was cancelled in full due to COVID-19, stating that final risk assessments would not allow the parade to be held. This is despite the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions in England.
2020 - #YouMeUsWe (Cancelled)
The 2020 parade was scheduled for 27 June 2020. In March 2020, it was postponed, with no new date announced, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. However, Gay rights activists from Clapham arranged a gathering on Clapham Common to celebrate Pride 2020. This gathering turned into a large party that was penned by BBC News as an illegal rave and was shut down by police at 11pm.
During the day there were pop-up performances, temporary tattoos, sing alongs and rainbow flags. There were no arrests.
2019 – #PrideJubilee
The 2019 parade occurred on 6 July. Following on from the 2018 anti-transgender protest, the organisation has committed to enhancing security for the event.
That same year, on Saturday, 6 July 2019 the UK would be celebrating Pride, as well as recognising the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. That year, Pride will be a time to bring the LGBT+ community closer to its counterparts. The Pride parade would be used as a celebration of hope and unity to people of all genders, sexualities, and races. The theme for Pride in London 2019 is The Pride Jubilee.
The official London Pride 2019 song is ''Dance Like Nobody's watching'' by Finnish singer
Saara Aalto
Saara Sofia Aalto (born 2 May 1987) is a Finnish singer, songwriter, and voice actress. In 2012 she came second in the first season of ''The Voice of Finland''.
In 2016 Aalto finished as the runner-up in the thirteenth series of ''The X Fact ...
.
2018 – #PrideMatters
Pride in London ran its 2018 festival from 9 June until 7 July. The parade happened on 7 July consisting of around 30,000 participants, 500 groups and over 1 million attendees to the event. The event saw 4 stages hosted in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Soho. The #PrideMatters theme followed on from a piece of research Pride in London did alongside
YouGov
YouGov is a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In 2007, it acquired US company Polimetrix, and sinc ...
with a nationwide consultation. The point of the theme was to show the discrimination the LGBT+ community continues to face on a daily basis, including hate crime and the requirement for continued social movement in support of LGBT rights and equality.
Anti-transgender protest controversy
During the 2018 Pride London, eight anti-trans activists carrying banners claiming "transactivism erases lesbians" took the lead of the demonstration without authorisation. They were quickly criticised by numerous LGBT+ organisations. The organisers of Pride London were also criticised for not having taken measures to remove the
trans-exclusionary activists from the march.
2017 – #LoveHappensHere
2017 marked the 45th year of pride marches in London. The 2017 parade happened on 8 July and saw over 26,000 participants and around 300 groups. Following the
London Bridge terror attacks, the parade was launched by members of the emergency services. The #LoveHappensHere campaign came in two parts, with the first phase drawing attention to stories of anti LGBT+ hate crime and the second phase in which a new set of stories is released focused on positive LGBT+ relationships and events within the London (to demonstrate that "Love Happens Here")
Following the 2017 event, Pride in London's community advisory board released a report heavily criticising the organisation for, amongst other items, a lack of attention to the bisexual and transgender part of the community as well as a breakdown in communication with
UK Black Pride
UK Black Pride (UKBP) is a black gay pride event in London that has taken place since 2005. It is Europe's largest celebration of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Caribbean heritage lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and qu ...
. Pride in London responded to the report in a press release where they expressed concern over the report's accuracy and balance.
2016 – #NoFilter
In 2016, the festival ran for over two weeks, from 10 June to 26 June with the parade being on 25 June. In 2016, the parade route changed, starting from Portland Place and then heading down through Regent Street, Oxford Circus, Waterloo Place, Trafalgar Square and then dispersing in Whitehall. Up to one million people were expected to attend and the parade consisted over nearly 300 groups.
There was heightened security put in place for this event as the
Orlando nightclub shooting
On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff.
In a 9- ...
had occurred earlier in the month. Following the attack, Pride in London reported a surge in support and said "it will be a celebration and commemoration. So many people have got in touch to say that they want to show their support after Orlando." A minute's silence was observed in remembrance.
2015 – #PrideHeroes
In 2015, the celebrations ran from 21 to 28 June, with the parade on the 27th; the day after same sex marriage became legalised nationwide in the United States. The theme "Pride Heroes" was used to celebrate LGBT figures of the day and throughout history including computer scientist
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...
and a gay sports club The King's Cross Steelers.
There was controversy over the decision taken by Pride in London to disallow the
UK Independence Party (UKIP)'s entry into the parade. Pride in London said, "This decision has been made after careful consultation in order to protect participants and ensure the event passes off safely and in the right spirit, it has not been made on a political basis". Despite the ban, UKIP supporters joined the parade with a banner of "Some gays are UKIP, get over it!", a reference to the continuing
Stonewall
Stonewall or Stone wall may refer to:
* Stone wall, a kind of masonry construction
* Stonewalling, engaging in uncooperative or delaying tactics
* Stonewall riots, a 1969 turning point for the modern LGBTQ rights movement in Greenwich Village, Ne ...
"Get Over It" campaign.
2014 – #FreedomTo
The pride week in 2014 ran from 22 to 29 June. The event took place in the months following the implementation of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples). The theme #FreedomTo was designed to be open to interpretation and inclusive of many possibilities, from "freedom to marry" to "freedom to be out on the pitch for gay footballers". A social media where people were asked to submit what #FreedomTo meant to them using an image of themselves with their message formed part of the first Pride in London advertising campaign. Celebrities and members of the LGBT+ community were also shown on adverts on the London Underground and London buses. The advertising campaign ran for 2 weeks prior to Pride on 28 June 2014.
Freedomto1.jpg , #FreedomTo Image 1
FreedomTo2.jpeg , #FreedomTo Image 2
Pride on DEP1.JPG , #FreedomTo campaign on Digital Escalator Panels on London Underground
Bus - Ben Cohen.JPG , FreedomTo Campaign on the side of London Buses (showing Ben Cohen)
2013 – Love (and Marriage)
After a bidding process organised by the Mayor of London in October 2012, the newly formed London LGBT+ Community Pride was awarded a five-year contract and a grant worth £650,000 in January to deliver the annual pride celebrations within London. The parade ran from Baker Street to Whitehall via Trafalgar Square. Around 150 groups marched within the parade. The theme "Love (and Marriage)" was chosen to coincide with MPs considering the
Equal Marriage Bill.
London LGBT+ Community Pride
London LGBT+ Community Pride was formed in August 2012 as a Community Interest Company (CIC) to deliver Pride in London. It was founded as such so that any surplus generated can only be reinvested in Pride in London events or distributed as grants to LGBT+ community groups. The current Exec Director is Christopher Joel-Deshields and the Board of Directors are Dan O'Gorman, Simon Jones and Asad Shaykh.
In addition to the Board, the organisation has a Community Advisory Board which was established as an advisory and scrutiny body to help meet its commitment to openness and transparency, to advise on questions of inclusivity and to act as a source of guidance on governance and operational issues that may arise.
Volunteers
Pride also has over 200 core volunteers who work throughout the year on organising Pride. Pride work throughout the year to recruit volunteers to help steward Pride day. In 2019 Pride in London recruited over 1,000 volunteers to work on 28 June 2014. This was the largest volunteer team Pride has ever had.
Pride in London sponsors
The headline sponsor for Pride in London in 2019 were
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
. Other sponsors have included
Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
,
ASDA
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
,
CitiBank
Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...
and
Prudential and
SAB Miller
SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the worl ...
. The event is also supported by
Mayor Of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...
.
DIVA Magazine is a long-running sponsor of the Women's Stage in
Leicester Square
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
.
Controversy
In 2018, the parade was led by an anti-trans organisation who forced their way into the parade. This was widely condemned by LGBT+ organisations and community. The organisation continued to retain Martina Navratilova as a patron after commenting that the inclusion of transgender inclusion in sport is "insane and cheating".
London Trans+ Pride
London Trans+ Pride is a pride march advocating transgender rights held in London, England, United Kingdom.
History
Trans Pride London was founded in 2019 by Lucia Blayke and led by a collective group of trans+ people. It was founded in part d ...
, a separate pride march advocating for transgender rights, was founded in 2019 in response to the events of Pride in London 2018.
During March 2021 the most senior volunteer, the Director of Communications, resigned in what they described as "distinct disregard for black and brown LGBT+ communities over a period of years". On 18 March 2021 the entire Pride in London Community Advisory Board (CAB) resigned alleging both a culture of bullying and a hostile environment for people of colour. They cited "the increasing preoccupation at Pride in London with managing the public relations concerns of its leadership, at the cost of supporting its Black and
POC volunteers or community members”. Throughout 2021 sponsors withdrew from the event based on this controversy
In October 2021 fourteen leading voices of the community wrote an open letter to the Mayor of London, who had previously called the organisation "a mess" and in need of a "reset and refresh how Pride in London is organised". The letter asked for intervention in the delivery of the event, including an investigation into bullying of volunteers, that directors make available a register of interests, and that the organisation engaged with the community.
Pride London
From 2004 to 2012, Pride London was the charity that organised and supported the operation of the annual pride celebrations in London.
WorldPride London 2012
At an October 2008 conference in Vancouver,
InterPride
InterPride is the international organization that brings together Pride organizers from across the World to network, share knowledge, and maximize impact. To this end, Pride organizers design InterPride’s structure, programs, and initiatives, to ...
accepted a bid from Pride London to host WorldPride 2012. This was to coincide with the
London Olympic and
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
and during the anticipated year-long celebrations of
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee
A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...
. Pride London planned a parade with floats, a large performance area in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
with street parties in Golden Square and
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
.
However, a major sponsor withdrew support leading to the charity being unable to raise the funds necessary. Consequently, the entertainment and stages were all cut, and licence applications for street parties in Soho withdrawn. Instead, the event plans included a Pride Walk (without floats or vehicles), and a scaled-back rally in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
. On 5 July, the
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
issued a licence regulations notice to all venues in Soho, reminding them that Pride London now has no licence for street events in the Soho area, and therefore venues should treat WorldPride as "any normal day".
This led to the closure of the Pride London charity in the days which followed the 2012 event. Its successor, London LGBT+ Community Pride, was formed in October 2012.
Controversy
Business organisations running London Pride have come under criticism from
socialists within the LGBT community. For instance, Hannah Dee argues that it has reached "the point that London Pride – once a militant demonstration in commemoration of the Stonewall riots – has become a corporate-sponsored event far removed from any challenge to the ongoing injustices that we
he LGBT communityface".
[Dee, Hannah (2010). ''The Red in the Rainbow: Sexuality, Socialism & LGBT Liberation''. Bloomsbury, London: Bookmarks Publications. Page 08-09.]
Awards and nominations
See also
*
Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK and Canada. The GLF provided a ...
*
LGBT culture in London
The LGBT community in London is one of the largest within Europe. LGBT culture of London, England, is centred on Old Compton Street in Soho. There are also LGBT pubs and restaurants across London in Haggerston, Dalston and Vauxhall.Olson, Donald ...
References
Footnotes
Sources
*
External links
*
*
Pride 2018at VisitLondon
{{Pride parades
Annual events in London
Articles containing video clips
LGBT culture in London
LGBT organisations in London
LGBT-related Internet forums
Parades in London
Pride parades in England
Summer events in England