Wembley’s iconic arch will light up in rainbow colours this weekend for the first time ever in celebration of the annual Pride in London festival.
THE Wembley arch, which is 133 metres tall and 315 meters long, will be joined by the Coca-Cola London Eye which will also light up in rainbow colours this weekend as the annual Pride Parade takes over central London on Saturday, June 27.
250 community groups, charities, businesses and organisations have signed up to take part in the parade – 20% of them new to Pride this year.
The theme of this year’s Pride Parade is Pride Heroes celebrating individuals who have contributed to LGBT+ rights over the years.
Michael Salter, Chairman of Pride in London, said: “The annual Pride Parade now includes over 250 groups representing the incredible diversity of London’s LGBT+ community. And this year’s Parade theme #PrideHeroes will ensure this is the most colourful and exhilarating Parade the city has ever seen.”
As part of the #PrideHeroes campaign, participants and members of London’s LGBT+ community, including its straight allies, are being asked to nominate their own Pride Heroes, from the famous to the unsung, and to share their suggestions via the hashtag #PrideHeroes.
Shaun Dellenty, a deputy head teacher and founder of Inclusion For All which tackles homophobia in schools and other organisations, features in the advertising campaign and is nominated as a Pride Hero.
Shaun said: “As someone who walked out of the state education system in 1987 due to years of sustained homophobic bullying with the full intention of ending my life, it’s unacceptable to me that a student could be experiencing the same homophobia today. I wrote and set-up ‘Inclusion for All’ as a training programme to be delivered in my school and today is has a global reach. Pride is absolutely still relevant today. The day I saw my first Pride Parade in 1996 was the day I accepted myself finally.”
To view Shaun’s story, click here:
Hundreds of #PrideHeroes nominations have already been submitted, including nominations by Mayor of London Boris Johnson and MOBO nominated artist Rebecca Ferguson who will be performing on Pride’s main stage in Trafalgar Square on June 27.
For a full list of nominations, click here:
Pride in London is a week-long festival, running from June 20-28, celebrating all aspects of the LGBT+ community. Last year more than 30,000 people joined the annual Parade, which is one of the city’s biggest one-day events, second only to the London Marathon. This year’s Parade takes place on Saturday, June 27, alongside the festival in Trafalgar Square and activities in Soho.
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