Pride parade returns in London on 50th anniversary of first parade

London on Saturday celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first Pride parade, marking half a century of progress in the fight for equality and tolerance but with warnings that more still needs to be done.

Several hundred people took part in the first march on July 1, 1972, just five years after homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK.

Fifty years on, more than 600 LGBT groups danced, sang and rode floats along a similar route to the original protest, in the first Pride since the coronavirus pandemic, watched by huge cheering crowds.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan told reporters the event, which organisers said was the “biggest and most inclusive” in its history, was a celebration of community, unity and progress.

But he said it was also a reminder of the need to “campaign and never be complacent” and the need for “an open, inclusive, accepting world”.

“We saw this time last week an attack in Oslo just hours before that parade, where two people lost their lives and more than 20 were injured,” he said.

“So, we’ve got to be conscious of the fact that there’s still a danger to this community of discrimination, bias and violence.”