'Pride London' was formed in 2004, since then a political rally in Trafalgar Square 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 music festival in Finsbury Park in 2004, and in 2006 'Drag Idol' in Leicester Square, a women's stage in Soho and a party in Soho Square. įor 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. The controversy of Section 28 from 1988 led to numbers increasing on the march in protest. This was in recognition of the support given to striking miners by LGSM. In 1985 representatives from mining groups joined the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners group (LGSM) on the march. 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 were harassing them by repeatedly raiding the Gemini Club, a leading nightclub in the North of England at the time. The first marches took place in November 1970 with 150 men walking through Highbury Fields in North London. Pride has been organised by several organisations since the first official UK Gay Pride Rally which was held in London on 1 July 1972 (chosen as the nearest Saturday to the anniversary of the Stonewall riots of 1969) with approximately 2,000 participants. 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.
The festival's events and location within London vary every year however the Pride parade is the only annual event to close London's iconic Oxford Street. It is one of the longest running in the country and attracts an estimated 1.5 million visitors to the city. This event brings together thousands of people of all genders, ethnicities, sexualities, and also many people of different races. 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. The event, which was formerly run by Pride London, is sometimes referred to as London Pride. Pride in London is an annual LGBT pride festival and parade held each summer in London, the Capital of the United Kingdom. NI)īlood donation deferral 3 months (incl. MSM activity not grounds for military dischargeīlood donation deferral 3 months (excl.
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