London was home to the largest Pride in British history over the weekend, with more than 1.5 million people reported to have been in attendance.
The events held on 2 July marked Pride in London’s first showing in the capital since 2019 after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
This year also coincided with the 50th anniversary of the UK’s first Pride march, with veterans from the Gay Liberation Front leading the parade with chants such as “3, 5, 7, 9, lesbians are mighty fine”.
Speaking to GAY TIMES ahead of it getting underway, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said this year’s event was set to be the “biggest and best” yet.
“We’re re-walking the route, celebrating the progress that we’ve made over the last 50 years, celebrating this wonderful community [and] the contribution they make to London being the greatest city in the world, but also having at the forefront of our mind there’s still a need to campaign and we can never be complacent,” he added.
Happy Pride from @MayorofLondon, @SadiqKhan! 🏳️🌈#LondonPride pic.twitter.com/HlRjR0kOQq
— GAY TIMES (@gaytimes) July 2, 2022
The day featured performances from the likes of Emeli Sandé, Ava Max and Cat Burns, as well as a collective moment titled ‘50 seconds of #AllOurPride’ to pay homage to the historic anniversary and unite everyone under Pride in London’s 2022 campaign.
LGBT+ Labour, the LGBTQ+ group affiliated to the Labour Party, marched in the parade alongside prominent politicians such as Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner, Emily Thornberry, Luke Pollard and Dawn Butler.
Thornberry noted that despite Pride celebrations being a “good time”, it is important to remember that there is “a serious side to it too”.
The MP for Islington South and Finsbury further explained: “50 years ago to be on a demonstration like this was to take your life into your own hands and actually it was a protest, and it was also about just being proud of yourself, just being confident and looking the world in the eye and going, ‘Yeah, I’m different – so what?’”
https://twitter.com/gaytimes/status/1543230505113583619?s=20&t=Kzl4gQGBTr6efuu4I7TaYA
LGBT+ Conservatives, the Conservative Party’s version of the aforementioned group, was also in attendance with MPs such as Caroline Nokes and Peter Gibson – though neither Boris Johnson nor his deputy, Dominic Raab, were seen taking part in any capacity.
Organisations such as Terrence Higgins Trust, Rainbow Migration, National AIDS Trust, KyivPride, UK Queer Arabs, Democrats Abroad UK and the Peter Tatchell Foundation were among those with representatives at the march – which more than 30,000 people walked in this year.
“Pride today is proof that together we are strong, that together our voices are amplified, and that we are here and we are queer and we’re not going away,” said Amy Lamé, the Mayor of London’s Night Czar.
Conor Clark for GAY TIMES
2072 will mark the 100 year anniversary of the UK’s first Pride march, by which time Lamé “would like to see us really, fully and truly have equality, not just in law, but in hearts and minds.”
Similarly, Khan shared that he wants “to end all forms of discrimination, abuse and violence towards members of this community.”
He further explained what this would look like: “Simple things, I say simple because it appears simple to me, we should be banning all forms of ‘conversion therapy’, there shouldn’t be any place in our society where it’s possible to discriminate against people from this community.
“I also think it’s important for us to be good allies, I think an attack on one community is an attack on all of us – that’s why I’m proud to be here again, I’ve been here every year leading this parade as the Mayor of this city.”
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