joselync
07-03-2022, 06:11 PM
The streets of London were filled with color on Saturday as the UK capital marked 50 years of Pride.
A vibrant crowd of hundreds of thousands turned out to either take part in or watch the festivities, forming a spectacle of rainbow flags, glitter and sequins.
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After two years of cancellations because of the coronavirus pandemic, the parade came a half-century after London's first march to celebrate Pride in 1972.
Saturday's procession took on a similar route to the original, starting outside Hyde Park and touring the streets towards Westminster. It was to be followed by a concert in Trafalgar Square.
Chris Joell-Deshields, the director of organizers Pride in London, said "momentous" rights and freedoms had been earned since the inaugural event, "but there is more to be done".
London Mayor Sadiq Khan hailed a "beautiful day" of "unity, visibility, equality and solidarity" as he joined in the celebrations.
More than 600 LGBTQ groups were expected to take part in the march, which was headed by members of the Gay Liberation Front from the 1972 protest.
Organizations ranging from charities to universities to the emergency services were also represented.
But uniformed officers from London's Metropolitan Police force weren't among them, as has been the case in previous years.
A vibrant crowd of hundreds of thousands turned out to either take part in or watch the festivities, forming a spectacle of rainbow flags, glitter and sequins.
66
After two years of cancellations because of the coronavirus pandemic, the parade came a half-century after London's first march to celebrate Pride in 1972.
Saturday's procession took on a similar route to the original, starting outside Hyde Park and touring the streets towards Westminster. It was to be followed by a concert in Trafalgar Square.
Chris Joell-Deshields, the director of organizers Pride in London, said "momentous" rights and freedoms had been earned since the inaugural event, "but there is more to be done".
London Mayor Sadiq Khan hailed a "beautiful day" of "unity, visibility, equality and solidarity" as he joined in the celebrations.
More than 600 LGBTQ groups were expected to take part in the march, which was headed by members of the Gay Liberation Front from the 1972 protest.
Organizations ranging from charities to universities to the emergency services were also represented.
But uniformed officers from London's Metropolitan Police force weren't among them, as has been the case in previous years.