What time is the Pride in London parade? Route, attendees and everything else you need to know
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 04: The exterior of Skinny Dip accessory store changes it’s logo to include the Pride rainbow and the words #hatesucks on July 4, 2018, ahead of the upcoming “Pride London” event in London, England. The first UK Gay Pride rally was held in 1972, with the London Pride event beginning in 2004. The Pride March walks through large areas of central London and continues to grow in attendance, year on year. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
London Pride is upon us. On Saturday, thousands of people will gather in central London, sporting shades of blue, green, yellow, purple, orange and red.
Here’s everything to know about this year’s Pride.
The event’s 46th edition will kick off at 12pm at Portland Place, near Oxford Circus. The parade will cut through the city and end in Whitehall.
The parade will go along Regent’s Street, slide through Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street St James’s, Pall Mall and Cockspur Street before finally ending at Whitehall Place.
Performances will take place on stages located on Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Dean Street and Golden Square throughout the day.
This year’s host Michael Twaits will give a speech on the main stage in Trafalgar Square at 11:45am and performances will start at 11:50.
A man rides a tube escalator decorated with the Pride flag colours on July 5, 2017 in London. (Carl Court/Getty)
A number of performers are set to take part in this year’s Pride, including the casts of West End productions like Aladdin, The Lion King and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Alyssa Edwards and Celebrity Big Brother winner Courtney Act are set to make an appearance, as well as the cast from Drag Idol 2018.
“We are extremely proud to bring some of our community’s biggest and brightest stars to our stages for Pride in London this year,” said Pride in London’s executive producer Ian Massa-Harris-McFeely.
30,000 people will march in this year’s parade, including LGBT+ charities such as Stonewall, Bi Pride UK, Coming Out UK, Switchboard and UK Black Pride just to name a few. Amnesty International and the British Red Cross will also be in attendance. A complete list is available on Pride in London’s website. It’s too late to march in the parade, but you can still apply to volunteer on the day.
Pride in London encourages participants to keep hydrated and avoid stations close to the parade, as they will be packed throughout the day.
The London Metropolitan Police will ensure that the event remains safe for everyone.
The country has been gearing up for its biggest Pride event, which will mark the end of Pride month and the Pride festival, which started on June 9.
England’s coach Gareth Southgate (R) celebrates with England’s midfielder Eric Dier after the penalty shootout at the end of the Russia 2018 World Cup match between Colombia and England (JUAN MABROMATA/AFP/Getty)
Sadly, football fans will have to choose between Pride and the World Cup, with England scheduled to play Sweden from 3pm.
Although some are claiming the Three Lions as their own, saying “Football is coming homo.”
One fan wrote on Twitter: “the quarter final is the same day as London Pride so I’m claiming it for all the sports loving queers, sorry straight people, the England team is ours now.”
