Celebrate Pride Month and the 50th anniversary of London Pride!
After two years without the parades and events due to the pandemic, Pride is back with a bang for 2022 as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of London Pride, which will be held in London on 2nd July. Pride may be a colourful and joyful celebration of the diversity of genders, ethnicities, sexualities and races, but it’s also so much more than that. Pride is organised each year to also remind us of the issues that still need to be tackled and where else in the UK you can celebrate it.
The date that London Pride takes place was chosen based on the closest Saturday to the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the protests that started the liberation movement for the LGBT+ community in 1969 in New York. It will also be an occasion to commemorate the history of Pride in London and highlight the significance of the march through the decades and today. While London might be the biggest and longest running parade there will be196 other Pride parades held throughout the UK in summer 2022.
The parade pays homage to the 1972 march, passing significant sites from the UK’s first LGBT+ movement. Some of the most recent achievements of the LGBT+ community include gay and bisexual men being able to donate blood and the legalisation of same sex marriage in 2013. Despite the LGBT+ community having achieved a lot in the last five decades, there are still many challenges people from the community face.
According to the AKT (Albert Kennedy Trust’s), 24% of the UK's homeless aged between 16 and 25 define themselves as LGBTQ+. Young people from the LGBT+ community are in fact at higher risk of becoming homeless because of lack of family support or fear of coming out.
According to Stonewall.org.uk, 20% of 5000 surveyed LGBTQ+ people have experienced discrimination because of their gender identity and/or sexual orientation. The great majority of hate crimes towards LGBTQ+ people goes unreported. Nevertheless, discrimination also happens on a daily basis. For example, LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be discriminated against when looking to rent or buy a property, visiting restaurants and clubs and even during sporting events.
These are only a few of the reasons while Pride is still needed today as despite the community’s many achievements, there is still a long way to go to reach true equality, respect and understanding.
If you want to get involved or support the London Pride, you can find more information at https://prideinlondon.org/
In support of Pride, we designed these colourful downloadables, re-inventing our signature prints with the colours from the Pride flag. These downloadables are only a small gesture that can show your support to the LGBTQ+ community. Download them at: https://carolinegardner.com/pages/free-digital-downloads
Image credits: https://www.instagram.com/prideinlondon/
