Thirty-five years ago it was time for Britain’s first Gay Pride march. This Saturday it’s time for 2007’s Pride Day, and it’s worth paying attention to. Even if you don’t want to go to the parade, the concert or the cabaret, a lot of London roads are going to be closed down for the event and its estimated half-a-million attendees, so getting around the city won’t be easy.
(Picture from 2006 by Jeffna.)
This year the theme is “Icons”, and marchers will be assembling in Baker Street from 10:30 in the morning. Anyone, whether “gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, cisgendered, asexual, or straight”, is welcome to take part (it’s free, and there’s no need to book ahead unless you’re a registered group), but you’ll have to be in the assembly area between 12:00 and 12:30. For those who’d rather just watch, the parade starts at 1:00, winding its way down Baker Street, along Oxford Street, and down Regent Street to reach Victoria Embankment by three or four o’clock. Organisers are recommending Whitehall as the best place to watch, due to the wide streets, and Regent Street and Oxford Street as places to avoid.
After the parade, further Pride events will be scattered throughout the centre of London. In Trafalgar Square, it’s the Main Stage, with an address by the Mayor followed by an afternoon of music presented by Amy Lame, Jamie Crick, John Barrowman, Lucio and Graham Norton. In Leicester Square, it’s the Cabaret Stage, running until 8:00. And on Romilly Street it’s the Women’s Stage, designed to bring attention to women artists; but just as Pride is open to those who aren’t gay, the Women’s Stage isn’t a women-only area, and everyone’s welcome. Just nearby in Soho Square there’ll be stalls from local businesses, and many of the local streets will be closed, making Soho a natural place to congregate after the march.
If you won’t be attending but will be in London on the day, you might benefit from checking out the list of road closures. The tube stations at Bond Street and Oxford Circus are expected to be very busy, and possibly even to be closed down. Attendees of the march are encouraged to use alternative tube stations, for example Marble Arch and Baker Street; and anyone who really wants to avoid the parade is encouraged to stay out of Central London for duration, because it’s going to be huge.
Pride London March: Starting from Baker Street, 1:00p.m., Saturday 30 June. Free to participate or to watch.
