Mayor of London Boris Johnson won’t be attending Pride Parade
Mayor Boris Johnson will not be attending this Saturday’s Pride in London Parade, officials say.
The Deputy Mayor for Police and Crime, Stephen Greenhalgh, has been chosen to represent Mr Johnson instead.
City Hall refused to give a reason for the Mayor’s absence but cited how he continued to be a “key funder” and “big supporter” of the capital’s annual LGBT festival.
A spokesperson told PinkNews.co.uk: “The Mayor is a huge supporter of Pride and the event’s biggest funder.
“He also stepped in last year to secure Pride’s long term future with a five-year funding settlement and the establishment of a new organising committee, which is heavily supported by City Hall’s events team.
“He has attended Pride in previous years and last year was the guest speaker at the Pride gala dinner.”
City Hall said Mr Greenhalgh would be highlighting the issue of homophobic crime at Pride on Saturday.
It comes after news of a homophobic assault on a gay couple in Whitechapel.
In the 12 months to March this year, homophobic crime in London increased by 5.6%.
Mr Johnson last attended the Pride Parade in 2010, where he announced his support for equal marriage in an interview with PinkNews.
Earlier this month, Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio said he will continue to boycott New York’s annual St Patrick’s Day Parade until it includes LGBT people.
Mr De Blasio recently served as Grand Marshall at Brooklyn Pride, ahead of the city’s main LGBT parade this Sunday.
His mayoral predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, also traditionally attended New York’s LGBT parades each year.
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