As the streets of London filled up with rainbows, Pride 2022 commenced. Here’s everything you might’ve missed about it.
On Saturday the 2nd of July your Instagram feed was probably filled with rainbow-coloured flags, glittery makeup and all of London Pride 2022 celebratory glam. The yearly celebration marked its 50th anniversary — that is 50 years of constant fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, and half a century of pride months.
Following the pandemic, this year’s London Pride was expected to be a big one — and big it was. With over a million people in attendance, alongside representatives from 600 different LGBTQ+ community groups, the protest was all anybody could talk about on social media, the news and friendly conversation.
What Was This Year’s Theme?
2022 embraced the theme of #AllOurPride — a nod towards a progressive attempt at uniting the collective. Interestingly, this comes from an organization committee that has been tagged as racist in the past and has been surrounded by several allegations of being anything but inclusive.
This year’s protests called for banning conversion therapy, reform the Gender Recognition Act, to provide equal protection for LGBTQ+ communities against hate crime, to establish a national Aids memorial and more.
What Celebrities Were in Attendance?
Everyone loves a celebrity at pride. It is a symbolic type of attendance, that somebody with hundreds or thousands of followers and fans shows up in public to support LGBTQ+ rights. This year we saw the faces of Phillip Schofield who came out pre-pandemic, Dame Kelly Holmes and Joe Locke, amongst many others. In terms of performers, we saw Emily Sandé, Ava Max, Eurovision winner Netta or RuPaul’s Drag Race Victoria Scone.
What Was The Street Style Like?
Pride is synonymous to extravaganza, colour, happiness and enviable street style, and 2022 was no different. We saw glitter, nudes, extremely high heels and a wardrobe of cheerful clothes take over the streets of London.
We also saw a lot of attendees of a variety of ages, always a pleasant surprise at the parades.
With the celebrations for 2022 over, we surely can’t wait to see what happens next year. Let’s not forget that Pride may only happen for one day a year, but that LGBT+ rights should be fought for and supported on a daily basis!