Tens of thousands march in London for annual Pride parade | LGBTQ+ rights
Tens of thousands of people marched through central London for the annual LGBT+ Pride March.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan joined the crowd as they made their way through the capital on Saturday afternoon.
Organizers of the event said more than 35,000 marchers from around 600 groups set out from Hyde Park Corner via Piccadilly towards Whitehall, many carrying rainbow flags.
activist Julian HowThe 70-year-old, who was at the front of the parade, told reporters: “Pride is important because there has to be a level of protest underlying it and you can see that the freedoms we have can easily be taken away.
“And we always need to go further because there is always a place where our rights are taken away.”
Speaking ahead of the event, a Pride spokesperson said: “The urgency is clear: NHS waiting lists for gender-affirming care are now more than four years old in some areas, while a comprehensive trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy has not been passed into law despite a 2018 government pledge.
“At the same time, the community infrastructure that LGBTQ+ people rely on is shrinking – 58% of LGBTQ+ venues in London have closed since 2006.
“These gaps in care, protection and safe spaces are emerging amid ongoing hostility, with Home Office figures showing more than 18,000 hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation will be reported to police in 2025.”
Britain’s first official Pride march took place in London in July 1972, inspired by the Stonewall riots in New York three years earlier.
Police raided a popular gay bar called the Stonewall Inn, sparking a week of demonstrations against harassment and discrimination.
The event’s interim chair, Rebecca Paisis, said she wanted to run “the most comprehensive London Pride event ever”.
He said: “Our movement has always been built on many voices coming together as one united front, from the people who marched in 1972 to those who joined us for the first time this year. That is where our strength lies.
“As LGBTQ+ people, we have never been strangers to adversity, but we are no strangers to collective action either. This year’s campaign is a reminder that although the community often faces challenges in isolation, by coming together we can change history.”
But in recent years the London event has been criticized by some LGBTQ+ activists who feel they no longer represent themselves.
It has faced accusations of “pinkwashing” for allegedly allowing some companies to profit from their attendance at the event without a real commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. Some activists also suggested the event was not diverse enough.
Since 2024, some LGBTQ+ groups have sought to distance themselves from the London march over concerns about sponsors’ links to the arms trade and the war in Gaza.
