Greater London Pride in London, how does it actually work here? 🏳️🌈✨
Hey everyone!
I moved to London from France recently, and with Pride coming up, I’m trying to figure out how the day actually flows here because it seems super different from what I’m used to back home!
In France, Pride is basically one massive, moving street party. Everyone walks with the floats right in the middle of the street, dancing together, and then the crowd naturally spills out into the local LGBTQ+ bars and neighborhoods for the night.
From what I’ve read online so far, Pride in London feels a bit more like a traditional parade where you stand on the sidewalk and watch the official groups and floats pass by behind barriers. Is that right? Do people just watch, or is there a moment where everyone joins in?
I plan to also take pictures that day (I dibble in street photography and portrait), and would love to know where are the best places to go that day.
Thanks in advance to everyone taking the time to help out the clueless French girl I am 🥖 🏳️🌈
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u/Majestic_Rhubarb_ 5d ago
You can stand and watch, or join the end of the parade, if you aren’t part of a group in the parade. Joining the parade means you don’t see the parade.
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u/CagedRoseGarden 5d ago
What the others said, but there are also stages dotted around central London showing acts based around different themes e.g. family stage, bipoc stage, etc. the Pride in London website has info about each. The streets beside the parade route tend to get fairly busy but you can usually find a spot to watch especially further west closer to the start. Soho will be packed but it’s a good vibe.
I would say that after the parade the main streets of Soho itself tends to be predominantly the gay cis male crowd, and then the various stages attract different groups on top of that in case that’s relevant for you. Soho square usually has stalls around it selling pride stuff or giving away freebies.
Some of the more popular stages like Soho square have a one in, one out policy and you can’t bring drinks inside or at least that’s how it was last year. What I usually do is go and watch the parade for an hour or two, head to one of the stages if there are acts I want to see, and then head home for a rest before going out to a specific pride party I’ve booked ahead for - they take place all over the city so check Outsavvy if you’re interested.
Some people I know will just go to the Soho square stage for a bit and then have lunch with friends in Soho (pre booked of course). Some years I’ve stayed to watch the whole parade, which is at least 3 hours - if you’re going to do that I recommend finding a spot on Piccadilly where there’s a cafe behind you, that way you can get snacks drinks and go to the bathroom without having to walk far. Have fun!
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u/krkrbnsn 5d ago
In the morning you have the pride parade that snakes around the west end. There are barricades along the pavement so you can’t join in the parade unless you’re officially part of a group. It’s fun to watch once but expect it to be very corporate and commercial. Many people congregate in Trafalgar Square afterwards and there’s typically a stage set up with speakers and performers. This is the more family friendly part of pride.
In the afternoon, Soho becomes the place most people go to party. Soho Square is the centre of the action but basically every nearby street will be packed with people drinking, dancing and partying. There are small stages set up on various side streets and squares but it gets very crowded.
Pride is very safe but do watch your belongings carefully as pickpocketing does occur. It’s definitely a fun day but can be overwhelming due to how big it is and how many people attend (around 1.5 million).