Pride in London - 27th June 2020

Other events like West End Live...

I thought Brighton Pride was cancelled? Was it not supposed to be last weekend but is now smaller events across the month?

The CEO has not resigned. There is a petition calling for it but so far he has steadfastly avoided any interaction with the public, including locking his Twitter account and dropping out of an interview on Gaydio this morning.
It is more than a "percieved" lack of support- after 27 years Manchester Pride has dropped funding for a free safe sex pack that they produced in conjunction with a local charity amongst other things. Yes the parade was cancelled, supposedly for safety reasons, yet all of the money making parts of the weeknd including the music festival, are still going ahead.

The purpose of Pride in London for me has always been to take over the centre of the capital with a combination of protest and celebration. Being out, loud and unapologetic.

And being free to attend

Not being in a park. Not hiding.

Not a pop concert. Not charging people to walk through Soho.

Yes it causes disruption. But that is rather the point. And it is one day per year.

You can't achieve that in a small way. It is an all or nothing thing for me. A day of a million people. A day of glitter. A day of Pride and Protest.

In 2019, no community group (who met the participation criteria and vetting) was denied space on the parade - meaning that the number of spaces for corporate groups was reduced. I believe the numbers were expanded to 36000 as a result. I don't know how many spaces were made available to individuals who wished to march - but I know that provision exists)

That is about the maximum given the length of time it takes for the parade to travel the route - any longer and it is impossible to have the parade finish in time. 2019 I think it took 6 hours for everyone to make it along the route - which is the limit of what it permitted from what I understand.

Trafalgar Square is only one of the places where there is a stage. IIRC there were 5 stages/areas as part of the 2019 event (I didn't get to the all as I ended up having to attend an emergency clinic because my wrist was injured by an attendee being rather to vigourous in their handshaking... best not to dwell on that though)

Trying to balance community and individual participation with the needs to pay for a huge event is never going to be easy. But I would rather it was that way round than being charged to enter the centre of London and then being charged more because a pop star was performing. And the aim is to maximise community involvement. It will never be able to include everyone - but I don't know a Pride format that would.

One thing that is coming and that is a Quiet Pride space - so that those who don't like crowds and noise can still be part of the day in a meaningful way. I have been pushing for it for some time and hopefully 2022 will see that come to fruition.

There are limitations placed on Pride in London by the Mayor's Office and the various local councils about the format, size and timing of the day - which will never make life any easier.

Getting the balance right for everyone is impossible - but I think the heart of Pride - that necessary combination of Party and Protest - is well represented in London by a free event with a range of different activities and spaces.

It isn't a perfect organisation (I know from personal experience) but it is evolving, it is trying listen and learn.

I would - being honest - prefer it if Pride in London morphed into a full UK Pride event which would then allow for your idea of smaller prides to pop up in London.

I think our capital should be the national focus for a Pride event. But I can also see that there would be those who would prefer the national event to move round the country so as not to be London-centric

There is no right answer but as long as we maintain a protest element alongside the party and that we make a nuisance of ourselves in the middle of London then we are doing the right thing. Plus keeping it free.

I hate the idea of paying for access to a Pride event. If London ever moved away from that I would boycott it.

Reading the Gruan article about this and it’s clear Manchester Pride has lost its way. Someone must be making a hefty chunk of change out of it with millions in revenue and only 3% of it actually going to charity in recent years.

And now they’ve found excuses to not even pay that much out to charity.

That’s not a community event, or a protest; it’s just another commercial music festival.

This year will be the first time in nearly twenty years that I won't be going. In the past I have been happy to pay for a ticket into the Gay Village under the impression that, after paying for security etc the remainder would go to charity. However after everything that has to come to light this week I realise this isn't the case and have had my ticket refunded.
I'd love to go and support the bars and businesses that have struggled over the last 18 months but to an extent they are complicit with Manchester Pride as many won't serve people without a wristband.