Pride in London is London’s annual LGBT festival, the five largest in the world – but the biggest in terms of festivals and events. Over 1 million view the parade of around 50,000 people, which winds itself through the centre of London.
The centrepiece to Pride in London is its mainstage which attracts over 10,000 people in Trafalgar Square, which is its capacity for this type of event
The DLR train completes a hat-trick of rainbow wrapped transport vehicles, which includes a New Routemaster and an iconic London black cab. The wrapped vehicles were designed to celebrate London’s diversity and the 10th anniversary of TfL’s LGBT+ staff network group, OUTbound.
Originally Pride In London organisers had allowed the LGBT GROUP for UKIP to enter the parade in this year’s march, however following a backlash the board reversed their decision, citing “safety” concerns. The group’s spokesperson decried the decision saying it was “a sad day for diversity and freedom.”
Speaking to PinkNews, newly-appointed Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman Lord Paddick condemned the move by the board by saying,
“After years of campaigning to be acknowledged and accepted by society, the last thing LGBTI people should be doing is excluding a group gays and lesbians from Pride that has a legal right to exist.
“The police and organisers should be facilitating their right to peacefully and safely participate, not using understandable hatred of UKIP as an excuse to ban them.”
This week Lord Paddick confirmed to THEGAYUK that he was backing Tim Farron to replace Nick Clegg has the Lib Dem’s leader.
Is every Kipper ready to go out and bash a gay? Of course not. But the party, as a whole, has a storied history of homophobia and transphobia, which Michael Segalov succinctly catalogued at Vice.
So when it was announced that LGBT in UKIP would join LGBTory, LGBT Labour, and other party queer contingents at Pride in London, there was an understandable and wholly predictable backlash. A petition to prevent them marching was quickly launched, and several prominent individuals, including the veteran equalities campaigner Peter Tatchell, condemned the decision to allow them to participate, telling the Mirror Online “I don’t think it is appropriate for any organisation that opposes gay equality to participate in the Pride London parade.”
Within days, organisers had reversed their decision, citing safety concerns in rejecting LGBT in UKIP’s participation and stressing the decision was not politically motivated. It’s a move Mr Tatchell called “a cop out” and Flo Lewis, the chair of LGBT in UKIP, denied, telling The Guardian that their petition was not rejected but, rather, their initial invitation was rescinded.
Whatever the reason, the reaction on social media was almost unanimous, with people across the political spectrum tweeting to express their opposition to Pride in London’s reversal. At first glance, it seems fair enough; no organisation should be banned because their safety cannot be guaranteed. That’s a poor reflection on not just parade organisers but also our community in general. Vodka, not violence, I say. But that doesn’t change UKIP’s horrendous record, both in policy and rhetoric, on LGBT equality. And it doesn’t mean they should be included.
Pride traditionally takes place in June for a reason. It commemorates the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising of 28 June 1969, widely viewed as the genesis of the modern gay rights movement in America and from which the UK’s largest LGBT organisation takes its name. Originally, Pride events throughout the Western world were political acts of radical resistance to queer oppression. For years, it was one of the few times that LGBT people could be out and proud and reasonably assured of their safety. It was, if you will, the first public “safe space” for LGBT individuals, rooted in queer and trans liberation.
For many LGBT people, it still is. Despite the corporatisation of Pride over the past decade, it is still a space that is ultimately about affirming LGBT identities and equality, one that is supposed to be free of judgement, fear, and oppressive politics. How, then, can UKIP—which opposed the introduction of equal marriage, supports the rights of Christian businesses to discriminate against LGBT people, and has more than its fair share of homophobic members—be included in good conscience?
It can’t.
And while it’s true that UKIP didn’t even mention LGBT rights in their manifesto, that silence is deafening—and part of the problem. Every other major party did, in one way or another, affirm a commitment to equality. UKIP refused. Instead, they let their party members speak for them. And oh God, did they. Like their candidate who called us “disgusting old poofters.” Or their MEP who said homosexuality is “abnormal and undesirable” as opposed to something to be “celebrated” (which is, you know, the entire point of Pride). Or the time a UKIP candidate claimed we cause floods. The list goes on and on.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t pro-equality members of UKIP, or that the party isn’t making incremental progress. Richard Hendron, a former PPC, told the Mirror Online that the decision to march in the parade had the “full backing of (UKIP’s) National Executive Committee”. This is welcome news, and might well signal a shift in tone, if not policy. But it’s not enough.
And it’s not as if LGBT Kippers have been banned from participating in Pride in London. They are just as welcome as anyone else in our community. But their party isn’t. That’s an important distinction. Of course LGBT members of UKIP are welcome. But LGBT in UKIP is not, because the party represents everything that Pride opposes: homophobia, transphobia, marginalisation, and prejudice. The group has refused to call the party on it. So while they can’t march under their party’s banner, the individuals can still participate. And I hope they will.
But I also hope they’ll go back to UKIP and outwardly and openly challenge their party on its homophobia and transphobia. Change, more often than not, comes from within, and until LGBT in UKIP are willing to challenge the bigotry and hatred within their own ranks, the organisation has no place at Pride. Until they follow in the footsteps of the Stonewall revolutionaries, whom Pride commemorates, they have no place marching alongside those who do.
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
Pride London’s committee has rejected UKIP Pride’s application to march in the world famous parade.
The board of Pride London released a statement that said,
“For this year we have reached the decision that UKIP’s application to join the Pride in London Parade, 27th June 2015, will be turned down.
“This decision has been made after careful consultation in order to protect participants and ensure the event passes off safely and in the right spirit, it has not been made on a political basis.
“We appreciate many in our community have strongly held views about UKIP, their policies and comments, but is undeniable that there are LGBT+ members of UKIP, including their MEP for Scotland, and it is important to remember that Pride in London aims to be an inclusive event.
“However, of paramount concern to us is the experience of all participants at Pride, most especially the position we would be putting our volunteer stewards in.”
A petition for the ban of UKIP LGBT had reached just 2383 supporters.
UKIP LGBT decried the ban saying it was “a sad day for diversity and freedom.”
With many LGBT people feeling that UKIP should not be part of Pride events due to many of their representatives holding homophobic, biphobic and transphobic views, I can see why London Pride have backtracked. However, my personal view is that London Pride should not have banned UKIP.
In my opinion, UKIP should be allowed to march.
For the past three years, I have organised the Warwickshire Pride festival, which takes place in Leamington Spa each summer. Among the 75+ stalls that attend the festival, there are usually a number of political parties represented. Labour have a stall each year, my Conservative MP typically gives a speech and sticks around to enjoy the day, and other parties get involved in some form too.
This year I received a stall application from UKIP. Along with the application was a passionate email from a representative of UKIP’s local branch, who said that although he is not LGBT himself, he supports equality and had contacted UKIP’s LGBT network to ask them to join him in supporting Warwickshire Pride. The representative acknowledged that not all people would be pleased about UKIP having a presence at a Pride event due to the reputation that the party has, but demonstrated that the local branch is willing to engage positively with the LGBT community.
At first, I thought there’s no way that I could allow UKIP to have a presence at Warwickshire Pride. As an individual, I am wholly opposed to what UKIP stand for. I believe that the homophobic and racist comments that some of their representatives have made are abhorrent. However, once I calmed down a bit I began to consider that if I allow other political parties to have a presence at the festival, it’s not fair of me to ban UKIP. That would be discrimination, which is not in the spirit of Pride, and I would also be allowing my personal views to affect my professionalism. Therefore I decided to allow UKIP to book a stall.
I also took the issue to my board of trustees, who agreed that we cannot discriminate against a political party because we don’t like their views. It was decided that we either allow all political parties who want to join in with the Pride celebrations to do so or ban them all.
The fact that UKIP is making an effort to become involved with a Pride festival shows that they’re not all bad people. In every political party, there are positive and negative representatives. Just look at how many Conservative MPs were against marriage equality and other LGBT equality laws. Yet there doesn’t seem to be any protest against the Conservatives having a presence at Pride events.
Ultimately Pride is about representing all LGBT people and the entirety of our culture. I am mindful that there are LGBT people who support UKIP, despite how the party is perceived. When I began organising Warwickshire Pride I was keen to create something for everyone to enjoy, and as much as I may not like it on a personal level, that does include allowing UKIP to come along and join the celebrations.
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
You’ve got to hand it to her… Sinitta knows how to bring it!
Sinitta wowed crowds at yesterday’s Pride In London event…
Performing her brand new comeback single Too Many Men, Too Little Time, Sinitta proved that she’s still got it and is every inch a star.
We are calling on 42 Commonwealth countries to repeal their criminalisation of same-sex relationships and to protect their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens against discrimination and hate crime – in accordance with the principles of the Commonwealth Charter,’ said Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation.
‘We are urging the organisers of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July to require every competing nation to sign a pledge to not discriminate in the selection of athletes for their national team. Article 7 of the Commonwealth Games Federation constitution prohibits all discrimination. But it is widely believed that most Commonwealth nations would refuse to select a LGBT athlete,’ he said.
Peter Tatchell has written to the Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014, David Grevemberg, asking him to ensure that all countries participating in the Commonwealth Games sign a non-discrimination pledge.
Peter Tatchell helped organise Britain’s first Gay Pride march, which took place in London in 1972. He has attended every Pride London parade since then.
‘Forty-two of the 53 Commonwealth member states criminalise homosexuality, with seven of them stipulating life imprisonment and two of them – Pakistan and Nigeria – having the death penalty under Sharia law in some regions,’ noted Mr Tatchell.
Marching in a joint contingent with the Peter Tatchell Foundation on Saturday will be African activists from Uganda, Nigeria and other African nations – including the African LGBTI Out and Proud Diamond Group and Nigerian LGBTIs in the Diaspora Against Anti-Same-Sex Laws.
On Saturday, we are meeting at 12.30pm at the corner of Baker Street and Wigmore Street W1 (opposite Portman Square).
The Pride London parade leaves at 1pm sharp.
Edwin Sesange, Coordinator of the African LGBTI Out and Proud Diamond Group, said:
‘It is unfortunate that the Commonwealth has failed to implement its own charter on human rights, which the Secretary General has said includes rejection of discrimination against gay people and any other form of discrimination. The Commonwealth should show leadership by directly challenging homophobia and transphobia in its member states, in the same way that it eventually opposed apartheid in South Africa. The Commonwealth Secretariat says it opposes anti-gay persecution but it takes little action.’
Yemisi Ilesanmi, Coordinator of Nigerian LGBTIs in the Diaspora Against Anti-Same-Sex Laws, added:
‘It is saddening that 80% of Commonwealth countries discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and inter-sex (LGBTI) people. In this age of democracy, every progressive nation should endeavour to protect the human rights of every citizen. No one is less of a human being because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Acknowledging and protecting LGBTI rights as human rights is a step forward for humanity. It is shameful that the Commonwealth of nations has not taken this important step. We continue to call on the Commonwealth to stand up for the rights of its LGBTI citizens. Every human deserves human rights. LGBTI rights are human rights.’
Londoners to star alongside celebrities supporting Pride in London’s #FreedomTo multi-channel ad campaign
With just two weeks to go until the main Pride in London event celebrating the LGBT+ community, the event organisers can today unveil a celebrity-backed evolving campaign in which Londoners will be invited to become part of the marketing to promote this year’s #FreedomTo theme.
The 2014 Pride in London Parade will take place on Saturday the 28th June. This year’s theme is #FreedomTo, which is all about celebrities and members of the public alike communicating what Pride means to them.
In a first for Pride, members of the public could see themselves being used in the promotional activity in the run-up to the Pride in London parade. Handling the user generated content and display element of the campaign is digital out of home agency Enigma – www.enigmacode.co.uk – whose founder, Andrew Newman, helped to devise a commercial strategy for Pride in London.
Celebrities including Sir Ian McKellan, Kylie Minogue, Graham Norton, Sir Elton John and Ben Cohen have already backed the campaign. Of the 150+ messages already submitted, examples include:
Sir Ian McKellan: “#FreedomTo be who you are and what you would like to be”
Graham Norton: “#FreedomTo be camp!”
Funmi Iyanda: “#FreedomTo support equality without fear and harassment”
To get involved, members of the public are asked to write their own personal #FreedomTo messages on a large piece of paper. By sharing this photo on Facebook or Twitter using the #FreedomTo hashtag, the Pride team will pick it up. Submissions that catch the eye of the team will be invited you to a photoshoot. More information can be found here: www.prideinlondon.org/freedomto.
Media owner Exterion Media has become a campaign partner, contributing more than half a million pounds worth of support. This commitment means the multi-channel campaign featuring the personal #FreedomTo messages and sponsors’ logos will be prominent across London’s bus and tube network, reaching millions of Londoners in the event build-up every single day.
This video introduces the #FreedomTo campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_fiQefoSL8
The media campaign will evolve over the course of the two weeks leading up to Pride day. The first week will include a call to action asking members of the public to submit their own personal #FreedomTo messages. The people behind the best entries will then be filmed and included in animated panel adverts alongside the supporting celebrities.
The second week – Pride Week (Commences Monday 23rd June) – the panels will also show highlights of supportive Pride parties, galas and live events – all of which are detailed here: http://prideinlondon.org/plan/whats-on/. This content will all be filmed by attendees themselves using filmmaking app Seenit, and in a user generated content first, the footage will then be edited by Enigma to be shown on the Exterion screens.
On Pride Day itself, the tube ads will change to say ‘Happy Pride’, including geo-specific information about how to travel to the Pride event from that station.
A media relationship has been struck with TV channel London Live, which will see the channel take the user generated content to create community profile films to be serialised during Pride Week.
Andrew Newman, co-founder of Enigma had the following to say, ‘We’re delighted this campaign has attracted the imagination of celebrities and members of the public alike, bringing people together for a common cause. Not only can you support Pride as before, you can now be a part of the campaign around it!
‘As Pride requires commercial support to be held, we needed to strike a balance to ensure that our diverse community was represented, while giving real value to sponsors and brands. We feel the #FreedomTo campaign achieves that and is something we can all be proud of.’
No doubt those opponents were praying for God’s vengeance on us, for, if not fire and brimstone, at least torrential rain to spoil our day, and, let’s face it, given the miserable June weather we have had so far, it wouldn’t have been that surprising. In the event, it seemed God smiled on us. London basked in the first true summer weather of the year. The sunshine brought out the smiles and, with it, one of the biggest and happiest Prides in recent memory. By report this was also the biggest and most heavily attended Pride in 10 years.
My friends and I were marching, leather clad, in the first section of the parade, alongside members of MSC London and Bluff, London’s two most prominent leather and fetish wear organisations. We were followed by the most disarming group of LGBT Filipino dancers, whilst ahead of us were a group of fetish dogs and felines, so there was definitely something for everyone. It is absolutely a tremendous experience to march in the parade, but the only problem is that by marching, you don’t get to see the range of people in the parade, nor get a feeling of just how big the it actually is. Years ago, I remember we used to march down Piccadilly, and that was one of the few times one could actually get an idea of the huge size of the event, a truly exhilarating experience. However, there were plenty of photos around on facebook and the like, and some on the net (a wonderful series in The Guardian) that give a great impression of the sheer diversity of our community.
One of the most enjoyable parts of marching, though, is just seeing the thousands of people, gay and straight, lining the parade route, enjoying the spectacle; waves of positivity and love. People with their families and friends, all there to cheer us on. For those who say that Pride is redundant, that we no longer need it, this is their answer, and this is why we need it.
Before the parade started I was chatting to one of the guys selling whistles and rainbow flags, an affable born and bred Londoner.
“You won’t be needing one of these, mate, will ya? Won’t go with your outfit,” he joked.
“Hardly,” I replied.
He then went on chat to me about how important he thought Pride was, telling me about his best friend, who had just come out.
“I think it’s wonderful. He’s marching today for the first time,” he said. “I can’t tell you how important this is for him. I love him, you know. He’s my mate. Makes no difference to me who he fancies. I just hope he can marry some bloke he falls for one day. Have a great day and wave to me wife and kids if you see ‘em. Oh no, you won’t know’em will ya?” he laughed, and went back out into the crowd as I moved off to join my buddies in leather.
It must have been unbearably hot for those of them in full Bluff leather gear. I had shoehorned myself into my leather trousers, but had elected for just a waistcoat and armbands on top. The sun certainly came as a bit of a shock and I now have white rings round my arms where the armbands were and white patches on my body where the waistcoat went. Ah well, one has to suffer for one’s art.
The only dissent I witnessed all day was a small bunch of god botherers, waving anti-gay marriage placards. The police had kept them well back and out of the way, and, to tell the truth, nobody, not the revellers, not the marchers, not the spectators, were taking a blind bit of notice of them. You have to wonder why they even bother.
Once the march broke up in Whitehall, we made our way into Soho to see if we could bag a table outside at our favourite haunt, Balans Cafe, for some lunch. The management and staff had all dressed up for the occasion, and they all looked fabulous, particularly, Rohan, my favourite waiter in all of London, who looked hot as hell in a hard hat, plaid shirt, denim shorts and boots. Sitting was not exactly easy in my ultra-tight leather trousers, but we attracted a lot of attention in our leather gear, with loads of young men wanting to have their photo taken sitting on my lap. I wasn’t complaining.
As we already had tickets for Summer Rites Pride in the Park, we missed the celebrations in Trafalgar Square, which were apparently superb. I really must get down there next year.
So, having got changed into rather more comfortable shorts and trainers, we arrived at a busy Shoreditch Park at about 6pm for what was an extremely well planned and organised event. Shoreditch Park is just about the perfect size. Not too big and not too small, and, with an incredible selection of no less than 7 Music Arenas, showcasing an array of London’s finest DJs and Performers, who were representing some of the cities hottest club brands, there really was something for everyone! Aside from the Music Arenas there were also 5 licensed bars, a Fun Fair and a Community Market. Most importantly bar staff and toilets were plentiful, so there was no real queuing. So often at these events, one ends up spending hours in toilet queues or struggling to get a drink at the bar.
We popped into most of the various tents to see what was going on. Most weren’t over busy to begin with. No doubt, it being such a beautiful day, the majority preferred to be outside soaking up the sun, and indeed that is where we found ourselves for the most part, catching up with friends we hadn’t seen for ages. Later on, the dance tents began to get much busier, as revellers soaked up the music, and danced the night away. I was also impressed with how clean the park was. Either, they had an army of cleaners running around, though I never saw any, or people were making sure they dropped their plastic glasses and bottles in the plentiful bins that were provided.By around 9pm, I had had enough. It had been a long day, my legs and feet were killing me and I decided it was time to go home. I had planned to go to the Hustlaball, but I was just too tired to manage it, and ended up having an early night. I’m sure I missed a great night, but it was nice to wake up at a reasonable hour on Sunday and actually get to enjoy what turned out to be the warmest day of the year so far.Over the next couple of days I scanned the internet for news of the event, but was rather saddened to see that the mainstream press had largely ignored us.
When, a couple of months back, a few crazy Frenchmen turned up in Trafalgar Square to protest equal marriage, the press was full of it, but thousands marching through the streets, celebrating the diversity of our community, approvingly egged on by thousands of spectators, both straight and gay, they completely ignore us. One does has to ask if there is some sort of agenda going on here. As far as I could make out, only The Guardian on line printed a series of fabulous photographs of the event. I was surprised to see nothing from our usual ally, The Independent.
It was also rather disappointing that the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, chose, yet again, not to attend. He pledges his support for the LGBT community, but has, as far as I’m aware, only put in one, rather uncomfortable, appearance. Time to get over it, Boris.
What was not dispiriting is that this year’s event has risen, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of last year’s near fiasco, and has been an incredible success. Roll on 2014.
From 17:00PM – to 20:00 there will be an outdoor event in Trafalgar Square, London to mark IDAHO, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2013.
Wendyl Harris from Pride in London said,
“We are honoured to join the global community marking this important international event. Homosexuality remains a criminal offence in 76 countries around the world, and punishable by death in a further 8 countries, yet many of our LGBTQI friends oversees will be celebrating IDAHO and looking to London for inspiration. IDAHO’s theme this year is marriage equality which compliments this year’s Pride Parade on June 29th: Love (& Marriage)