Pride in London - 6th July

It will be the biggest parade we have ever staged - more community groups than ever will be represented. Am sure you will have a fab-u-lous time

Happy Pride Month, good old forum! Just wanted to highlight this, and talk about Tbilisi:

London Pride is, depressingly, as essential this year as ever. Every Pride is as essential as ever. As long as there is at least one homophobe in the world, we need Pride parades, and recent news stories have shown that, both home and abroad, there is at least one homophobe. The more Prides in the world, the better. With that in mind, let’s celebrate those countries having their first Prides, and celebrate/mourn/hugely f***ing celebrate one place in particular – Georgia.

Georgia’s relationship to LGBT rights is… better than its neighbours, but given its neighbours… This year’s Tbilisi Pride, therefore, promises to be one of the more important parades around the world. There aren’t many Soviet Prides – even though the people clearly want them – so the fact that Georgians will proudly march is cause for such celebration…

…except that the government just announced that they shouldn’t have the Pride March. Security can’t be provided. Apparently someone in the government has been actively pressuring them not to have it at all, but that’s hearsay. What’s fact is that they’re not having any support.

Tbilisi Pride’s response? Absolutely bloody amazing.  After June 23rd, let's see how this amazing event went.

There’s a petition that was just announced, so the more people who sign it the better. go.allout.org/en/a/tbilisi/.

Beyond that, there’s no great call-to-arms here, beyond awareness.  Despite it amazingly being discussed in parliament, I don’t think there’s enough awareness of the event, let alone the Georgian government's sudden decision, let alone the amazing response of the organisers. I only have three actual friends in the real world, so I hope you don’t mind me sharing this non-theatrical matter on a theatre forum, but those of you planning on attending London Pride, I’m sure this is of interest to you. The more people who know the incredible stakes Tbilisi Pride is going against – and that they are going ahead at all, despite this all – the better. That petition is worth sharing as much as you can. The more awareness, support, and love, the better.

But anywho, enough of that. Honestly it's late on a Friday and I've drunk too much to know how to end this point.  Happy June to everyone here, and happy July 6th too.

Here is my view.

If you are just showing support with no intentional commercial gain that is absolutely fine and the gay community needs that support, I am afraid, more than ever at the moment with some very worrying things happening around Birmingham schools and attacks on gay people - most recently on a bus in London.

However, where is it absolutely not appropriate is when straight businesses who do nothing for the LGBTQ community throughout the year suddenly fly rainbow flags outside their businesses for Pride. In Brighton, Pride is a massive event and it really annoying when VERY straight bars who owned by huge breweries who do nothing for gay people fly rainbow flags outside their bars for Pride - cashing in on the day (suddenly becoming gay friendly) when they put nothing back into the community.

Sponsoring as a headline sponsor is about a significant financial contribution as well as making a big statement of intent

Putting up a few rainbow flags and issuing a press release - rather somewhat less so

I welcome all allies in the fight for true equality - but I need them to pay more than lip service to the idea. It isn't about the money, it is about the culture they create, the efforts they make, the real change they are bringing about and supporting.

M&S were no doubt sincere with their LGBT Sandwich (Lettuce, Guac, Bacon and Tomato) but it didn't play well for them as it felt like a cheap stunt and the idea of representation through food items just didn't land well with everyone. It was a genuine attempt to do something positive - but it didn't work as well as Skittles have done with their White Skittles - which has been repeated for a number of years now.

It isn't an easy line to tread. You need to do more than just wrap yourself in various flags. This shouldn't be about trying to get your slice of the pink pound, it should be about signing up to what the Pride movements around the world stand for.

Given what we have seen in the past few days with the assaults in London and Southampton and the open homophobia from the protests in Birmingham (and elsewhere), this is a fight that needs to be fought with renewed vigour. Asking for a bit more than some rainbow washing isn't inappropriate at this point sadly.

I am not sure we are disagreeing on anything.

The sandwich, from everyone I have spoken to about it, was a bit of a misfire. It was a genuine attempt to do the right thing - but didn't land as well as hoped. But I don't think M&S were seeking to exploit or cash in.

That is not true of every company that wraps itself in rainbows.  Until the past few months, I thought we were roughly heading in the right direction. There were still bumps in the road - such as the lack of marriage equality in NI and serious issues overseas. But the rise of overt homophobia on the streets of our major cities feels significant and dangerous.

We will continue the fight. And all allies in that fight are very, very welcome.  

Just another quick reminder that Pride in London will be taking over central London this Saturday.

Expect lots of glitter (biodegradable, of course), rainbows and fabulousness. Plus Billy Porter on the Trafalgar Square stage!

Nearly 600 groups will be marching in the parade - our largest ever - and no group was turned away (as long as they met the criteria!)

It will be a special day of protest and celebration. Join in the fun. Or just have a great day of theatre-going (allowing extra time for travel)

Wishing everyone a happy Pride as always...peace,tolerance,equality and love rule!

1.5 million people attending

Nearly 600 parade groups with 33000 marchers

Over 1000 volunteers

And I am on my way home after starting my shift at just gone 6am

Soho Square was very debauched when I was going through it around 5pm -

Groping shouldn't happen - but in a highly charged atmosphere, it does tend to occur.

Sorry I was too tired to stay for Billy Porter - I bet he was amazing

Sorry - I wasn't seeking to dismiss. No-one should be touched without consent. Ever

But in a tightly packed Soho, it is likely to happen. There is only so much paid stewards, volunteer stewards and the Police can see and do.

On the whole, I saw a lot of very positive and supportive behaviour from attendees - that doesn't mean that inappropriate things are permitted just that they are very hard to prevent.

The statistics show that crime in London goes down on Pride Saturdays - even with more than 1 million people on the streets.

I will certainly raise the issue of attendee safety at our next All Team meeting - to make sure that consent is a key message we send out.

Even putting your hand on someone’s knee is sexual assault. So to be groped would also be unlawful and sorry to hear that happened.

Anyway I was at Pride today and loved to see both the Prince Edward and Dominion theatres, have their LED screen with the pride flag, At Sweat this evening for the final curtain the whole cast came out with a small pride flag each.

I marched yesterday with work. I work for a Local Authority and it was our first time as as council. there were about 45 of use. I saw it as a wonderful opportunity to partake in a major parade through the streets of London.

We were told where to meet and at what time, what to wear and bring etc. but nothing could prepare you for the screaming, shouting, palm slapping, dancing and joy with the crowds.

I have always watched but never partaken. I really hadn't ever felt the need to before but now that I have, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I came home hot, tired and with sore feet but euphoric!

You can sign up at prideinlondon.org/volunteer

That way you will get the emails when we start the process next year.

You certainly wouldn't be crashing anything. Allies are very very welcome

Well this is how my day went:

Alarm - 3am. Alarm - 3.05am. Alarm 3.10am...you get the picture. I woke gently with some YouTube videos of camp musical songs. Got dressed and was ready for my taxi to the coach station for the 4.15am Oxford Tube to London.

As to be expected at that time of the morning, it was an easy run - so was off the bus by 5.45am and thence to get a double sausage and egg mcmuffin to start the day.

I was at the Registration site by just after 6am and did the signing in/accreditation process - getting my radio, wrist band and so forth so that I could roam round the entire footprint of Pride for my job of the day which was volunteer well-being. This is a new initiative where we are putting the effort into making sure our volunteers are happy and healthy through the day.

My first few hours were spent talking to colleagues and handling the dispatch of electric scooters being used by people who needed to get around quickly. So very camp when you see them in action.

Around 9.30, my niece and her friend arrived for their first ever Pride. And their first ever volunteering. It was probably the highlight of my day to see them having a great time and feeling empowered as a result. They were signed in, covered in glitter and rainbows and spent their day on Whitehall dealing with the end of the parade!

I headed out with my immediate team around 11.30 and went to the start of the parade (which was up by the BBC). This is my 5th year of volunteering with PiL and it was my first time out on the parade route (normally I am behind the scenes). It was an overwhelming experience in so many ways.

The noise, the colour, the whistles, the smiles - it is one of the great things about the event that we take over the heart of our capital city and dominate it for one short day in a rainbow city. We don't charge people to attend. We don't charge people see the events on the stages. Yes, that means corporate sponsorship - but it is worth it to make it free to EVERYONE. It is the most inclusive thing we can do. And all sponsors are checked to make sure that they are active year-round in their support of Pride ideals. They don't just slap a rainbow on things for a month every year. They are committed to change - and we turn down many offers from companies that can't demonstrate that.

So once the parade started off just after 12, I was on the route talking to our volunteers, checking in the the crowds, keeping my eye on safety issues and helping troubleshoot where necessary. I think I reached the end of the parade route about 3pm - 1.2 miles in 3 hours... not fast progress. I smiled a lot. I cried a couple of times. I revelled in the positive, supportive atmosphere. There were a few celebs that I saw - Scarlett Envy was walking the route in impressive heels. Sir Ian was being lovely. Shirley Ballas was looking a lot like Frances Barber. There were plenty more that I missed.

But it was a march of protest and of 50 years of achievement. The balance was right. We made our points very loudly and very proudly.

My day was somewhat cut short due to someone in the crowd being rather forceful with making me do underarm spins with him. He wasn't to know that I have damaged by right wrist - but he rather made it worse. So by 4pm I was back at the Registration base on Poland Street and by 5pm, I was being seen by a nurse at the Soho drop in centre.

6pm I was on my coach home. Exhausted. In pain. But happy to have been part of it again.

I know now how much more we can do to look after our volunteers. How much more we need to do to make the event run smoothly. But it was a huge achievement from a core team of 200 year round volunteers and 1000 on the day volunteers. Budget of £1.2 million. Biggest ever crowds. Biggest ever number of volunteers. It is easy to forget the work necessary to make it happen. But it is so worth it.

Whether you march, you attend or you volunteer, you are part of something special. It is still needed. And London is one of the top 3 iconic Pride events - we are part of a global effort. Even if we achieve everything we want here at home, we still need to fight for those who live under the threat of death for being who they are. Until we defeat hate, Pride will always been needed. And we will continue to make a lot of noise about it.