London Pride 2021 Preview

During the month of June, rainbows can be seen everywhere; from vodka bottles to pin cushions to those Ikea bags you stuff your laundry into whenever you get round to cleaning your room (and then promptly forget about – well, until you need to find that top you like…).

Corporations just love getting in on the rainbow action – and who doesn’t want to commemorate and celebrate Pride?! We should all, regardless of our sexual orientation or gender identity, be interested in Pride because, well, it’s all about equality. For everybody. And you’d be pretty weird if you didn’t want to celebrate that.

However, Pride isn’t just for June. It’s for every day. And this is where corporations miss the mark. It’s all well and good getting the flags out on 1st June but what happens on the 30th - they get taken down, and then we just forget about Pride? The problem is, Pride isn’t just a marketing strategy - it’s a lived experience. It’s something that members of our community must bear in mind every day, as they just try to get on with their lives.

We can’t just celebrate Pride when it suits us; this is why London’s annual Pride parade is such an important event. It was here long before Pride month and it’ll be here long after too. Last year, we had to miss out on the annual London Pride festivities (and worldwide festivities too, for that matter) due to the coronavirus pandemic. Which is why it’s extra important to celebrate this year.

This year’s parade is set to take place on the 11th September. It will take place, as usual, in Trafalgar Square. The march will weave through the capital’s main attractions, including Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street. And as usual, the event will line the streets with parties, workshops, and cultural gatherings.

However, there are a couple of question marks when it comes to things like event capacity and the day’s line-up. As you know, the event is usually completely free – you can just show up on the day, zero forethought required. However, because of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, the organisers might have to place a cap on the number of people who are allowed to attend. This might mean that attendees are asked to reserve a spot for themselves.

Hopefully, the celeb line-up will more than make up for such uncertainty. However, because of the equivocations both from the government and the London Mayor’s office, we might have to wait a little longer to find out who will be coming out (if you’ll pardon the pun) for 63the day to ally themselves with the LGBTQ+ community.

The co-chairs of the event, Michael Salter-Church and Alison Camps have reassured people that more information will be disclosed in the next few months. They say that they’re “working closely with the Mayor’s office, Westminster City Council and other key bodies in London to finalise what our plans will look like.”

So, watch this space. We’ll get back to you nearer the time when everything has been finalised.

 

Words by Rebecca Clayton