London’s Gay Pride welcomes all nationalities

London welcomes all as the annual Gay Pride parade makes its way through London.

Central London was shut down on Saturday 28th of June to make way for the annual Gay Pride parade that stretched from Baker Street to Trafalgar Square.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said “the increasing visibility of LGBT people is a testament to London’s status as one the most LGBT-friendly cities.” We talked to demonstrators and revellers alike about their own experiences within London’s LGBT community.

Ozzy, 21 from Poland said; “There is no legal recognition of same sex couples in Poland, you can still only get married if you are man and woman. Being gay has never been illegal, although it might as well be, there’s still a lot of discrimination. That’s mainly down to ignorance, most people consider being gay as an unnatural thing”.

He continued: “ I think that’s why Gay Pride is amazing, because it’s a chance to say “we’re exactly the same as everyone else”. London’s amazing that way, ever since I moved here I haven’t been scared to act naturally and just be myself.”

Max, 23 from Estonia said: “You can’t be gay in Estonia, you just can’t. There was this one boy in my home town who used to listen to girls music, like the Spice girls and stuff like that, and I told him; “you have to stop that, people will find out and then you’ll be in trouble”, and when people did find out they just assumed he must be gay and he had to leave town. You would get stabbed, beaten, horrible things done to you if you were gay.”

“When I first moved here I went to Soho at night and I found it so strange to see so many gay people in the same place, I have to admit it scared me at first. Now though I’ve learnt that it’s not something to be afraid of. That’s why I’ve come to gay Pride, because it’s not just about being gay, it’s about acceptance as well.”

A record 30,000 people joined the “#freedomto” march which celebrated some record achievements in the rights of those from the LGBT community. Accomplishments that include the legalisation of same-sex marriage, and the repeal of Section 28.

There had been some criticism of London’s Gay Pride. With the increase of acceptance and political change, some have questions about how relevant Pride is today. Yet talking with Sash and Oskar, who come from places where being LGBT is so marginalised and dangerous, you can imagine why Pride came about, and why it’s vital to celebrate in order to maintain positive change. Pride is now increasingly about acceptance, normality and showing everyone else how similar the LGBT world is to larger society.