Following two years of no Pride parade on the bounce, London’s world-renowned celebration has been given the go-ahead for 2022.
After the 2020 and 2021 events were sadly cancelled, you can put the date of July 2, 2022 in your calendars for a big ol’ party to make up for lost time. This also marks 50 years since the very first Pride march in the capital.
And now, the route for the parade has been revealed, and it starts at Hyde Park, where the very first post-march picnic took place in 1972. The parade will then march from Hyde Park Corner to Piccadilly Circus before shuffling down to Haymarket and Trafalgar Square, where the 1972 march ended. This year, the parade will end up in Whitehall Place.
Christopher Joell-Deshields, executive director for Pride in London, said: “We are excited for the return of Pride in London and the opportunity for the LGBT+ community to come together to celebrate our diversity, progress, and individuality.
“The Pride movement continues to evolve. Organisers across the UK and the world share a collective mission to elevate our community’s voice and raise awareness of the inequality and injustices locally, nationally and globally.”
Last year, the parade was pushed back from its usual July date to September, before eventually needing to scale back completely due to Covid-19. Thousands did, however, take to the streets for celebrations, but the usual parade was a huge miss for the city.
Now, assuming all goes to plan, we have a Pride Parade on the cards that celebrates the 50-year landmark, as well as makes up for two lost years.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan spoke about the welcome return of Pride, saying: “We have hugely missed having the opportunity to march together for the last two years.
“The march of solidarity and celebration has had a huge impact on our society over the last five decades, and by joining together this summer we will again show the world that London is a beacon of inclusiveness, acceptance and diversity.”
The Pride Parade for the 50th Anniversary of the first Pride March in London takes place on July 2, 2022.