Gay Pride 2011

Woohoo! Break out the rainbow flags, the questionable bondage outfits, the hot pink swimwear, the feather boas and enough glitter for Ke$ha to fulfil her dream of coating the earth with it, or whatever; for Pride London festival is upon us and it’s time to celebrate all things LGBT.

Pride London has been around since 2004, when it attracted 30,000 people (not bad for year one, eh?) and since that time it has grown steadily, and attracted over a million people in 2010, which made it the biggest outdoor event in the UK. A far cry from the first gay marches to be seen in London in 1970, in which 150 men paraded through north London.

So the deal is this: The famous parade itself takes place on Saturday, starting at 1pm outside the BBC Broadcasting House and making its way from Portland Place down Regent Street to Waterloo Place, up Pall Mall and Cockspur Street and finishing up at Whitehall.

A quick head’s up – if you’ve been at the parade for the last few years, bear in mind that this route is slightly different to previous routes, as Oxford Street is off limits.

In Trafalgar Square you will find the Main Stage of the event, on which will perform the artists who have been lined up for the event. If I’m honest, the only names I recognise from the list are Stavros Flatley from Britain’s Got Talent or wherever the hell they came from, and Belle Amie and Rachel Adedeji from X-Factor, which unfortunately says too much about my deplorable taste in reality shows. But honestly, I don’t think it’s going to matter – you’ll have happy, chirpy people blasting out the tunes and it’ll be a great atmosphere.

You’ll also find the Dance Stage in Soho Square, which I understand will be all about the DJs, dancers, singers and performers, so that should be thoroughly wonderful too.

An addition to this year’s organisation is the Family Area, which is to be found in the gardens of St. Anne’s Church on Wardour Street in Soho, open from 2-7pm. There will be magicians and balloon artists and bouncy slides and clowns and so on, so the whole day can be something for the family. Nice touch.

Saturday afternoon is shaping up to be a crazy-busy but wonderfully ambient day in Central London – more info can be found on the event’s website.

Image by truthmonkey courtesy of Flickr