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In The South

Registration opens for Pride in London 2016 Parade

Graham Robson January 20, 2016

Pride in London 2016 Parade registration opens today with new application process.

London Pride

Groups wishing to take part in 2016’s Pride in London Parade are being urged to apply now to secure their place in the Parade.

With numbers growing significantly year on year, organisers say it may be necessary to place a cap on participants in this June’s Parade. It is hoped it will be able to accommodate all groups, but if a cap has to be put in place, entry will be on a first come, first entered basis.

Following public consultation a new application process has been put in place this year about the potential for exclusion of groups from the Parade.

The Independent Community Advisory Board (CAB) of Pride in London consulted in September and October on the grounds and a process for reaching decisions on participation.

All Parade groups will now be required to sign up to an affirmation that they will uphold the Pride values of: “equality and human rights, acceptance and inclusion of all, regardless of race, disability, gender, gender expression, sexual identity, sexual orientation, HIV status, age, faith or belief, trade union membership. political affiliation, marital or civil partnership status, nationality, refugee or asylum seeker status.”

The CAB has also set out potential grounds for exclusion from the Parade and will be reviewing all applications.

To help get 2016 off to a great start, Pride in London has partnered with Winter Pride, a music festival celebrating our #FreedomToParty, featuring top name DJs and performers including David Penn, Tom Stephan and Abigail Bailey and will be hosted by Chrissy Darling.

Join them on Saturday, January 30 at The Coronet in Elephant and Castle. Pride in London parade groups and volunteers will be partying to mark the huge success of Pride in London 2015 and event organisers are making a donation to Pride in London.

Abby Chicken
Abby Chicken

Chair of the independent Community Advisory Board Abby Chicken, said: “We are very grateful to the 134 people and organisations who took time to help us refine our proposal for management of a very difficult issue; the balancing of the vital importance of inclusion with the need to ensure the event meets the high standards of mutual respect and support and promotion of the cause of LGBT+ equality and freedom that we rightly expect. We have recommended to Pride in London an approach that will allow us to strike that balance in a clear and transparent way. I am grateful to all the groups and individuals who took the time to respond to our consultation in the autumn.”

Michael Salter-Church
Michael Salter-Church

Michael Salter-Church MBE, Chair of London Pride, said: “Last year’s Pride in London was the biggest ever, providing a high profile platform for community groups to reach the LGBT+ community and wider society, campaigning on issues of importance to them. The nature of Pride as an inclusive event, open to all means that there will often be areas of disagreement about how best to proceed in the interests of the community and the future of Pride. Our adoption of the process put forward by the CAB will ensure that we have a forum for managing disagreements in an open and transparent way. I thank the CAB for their hard work, I know it hasn’t been easy. Pride is such an important moment of visibility, campaigning and shared strength; it is also a time when we join together to celebrate our successes and support fellow LGBT+ people wherever they are. Our strength is in solidarity and unity.”

To take part in the parade in London on Saturday, June 25, groups can now apply through Prideinlondon.org

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