We came, we marched, but we didn't - sadly - conquer the
authorities' attempts to scupper World Pride 2012. Rumours have
been rife since the event took place last Saturday about who is to
blame for the scaled down event, the banning of Soho's usual pride
parties, the last minute change of parade start time, the banning
of floats etc that excluded community elders and those who have
problems walking.
The authorities to which I refer are City Hall, Westminster City
Council and Pride London. Speaking today to human rights
campaigner, Peter Tatchell, he told me he reckons the
responsibility for the monumental cock-ups lies with these three
key players.
According to a source at the mayor's office, the event could
have gone ahead as originally planned once Gaydar and Smirnoff
offered to stump up the outstanding £65,000 a week before the
event. "With the will there was enough time to have got the event
back on track and the claim that [the scaling down] was a health
and safety issues is nonsense," Tatchell said. "The police say that
Pride is one of the safest if not THE safest event in London's
calendar. It could be run with [minimal] police and stewards.
Privately, the police have not been happy with the Mayor of London
and Westminster City Council and they were very supportive of the
Pride organisors," Tatchell said.
This suggests that after the Pride London committee (who were
today unavailable for comment) fell short of collecting sufficient
funds required to pay the relevant authorities up front, Boris
Johnson and Westminster City Council did their utmost not to play
ball.
According to an email sent to Peter Tatchell by a senior Mayor
of London advisor, City Hall deliberately changed the start-time of
the World Pride parade in London last Saturday "to attempt to
reduce numbers." It intentionally sought to deter people from
attending. Not, as we were lead to believe, in order to ensure
public safety.
This email suggests that the Mayor's office never wanted a big,
spectacular World Pride. City Hall appears to have forced
deliberate changes to deter attendance and cut numbers on spurious
health and safety grounds. Tatchell continues: "It seems likely
that the Mayor's advisors were not unhappy with the shambles and
bad publicity around World Pride. They appear to have been intent
on making the event smaller, more manageable and easier to control.
It's appalling that the city authorities wanted to downscale
London's premier LGBT celebration. Presumably Boris Johnson was
aware of what was going on. Did he approve it?"
Add to this the fact that several of the 300 international
journalists who attended the event at the invitation of Pride
London reported how shocked they were at how badly organised the
event was. The editor of the German lesbian magazine L-Mag, Manuela
Kay told me that several of the events that had been advertised on
their itinerary were cancelled with no explanation why and that
press access to the acts and speakers at Trafalgar Square was
almost impossible. Imagine the global reputation that London will
have as host when those journalists return to their respective
countries?
And that's another thing - where on earth were the L and B
performers on the Pride stage? All the acts on the billing were
either straight women or gay men, or at least that's how it seemed
to me. It seems inconceivable that the organisors were unable to
attract a single lesbian or bisexual performer. Rome had Lady Gaga,
Sydney had Kylie (OK, not lesbian or bi but at least it was a big
name) and London had... Deborah Cox. Who?
That said, the Pride parade, without its floats and a reduced
corporate presence was for many a thrilling and moving experience.
I welled up when I saw two mums wearing t-shirts that read 'Proud
Parent' and the Filipino contingent and those from other nations
where gay love is still a criminal offence, brought a tear to my
eye. I felt proud and deeply grateful to live in a country where
our love is no longer a crime. It was heart-warming to attend pride
with some young gay men and lesbians who had never been on a pride
march before. Their excitement was palpable. Throughout the day I
read Twitter messages and received texts from those who had never
attended pride and who were overwhelmed by being among so many
other queers after years of hiding and feeling so alone.
One of the best parts of the day for me was hearing Peter
Tatchell speak in Trafalgar Square, introducing the veterans of the
first ever London gay pride march and reminding us that there are
still so many countries where it is illegal or punishable by death
to be gay. Around Soho, I and my girlfriend mooched around meeting
friends and DIVA teamsters at lesbian-run Tonkotsu Noodle bar on
Dean Street and then later on headed over to Unskinny Bop Prom at
the Bethnal Green Working Men's club for a totally queer school
prom with a twist.
It was a great day, a day of celebration, a day of thanks, a day
for getting a real taste of the global diversity that exists among
the people that comprise the LGBTQI communities. But it was also an
event that could have been so much better. And could have showcased
London as the welcoming, world-class city that it is. As a result,
the event did as much to divide sections of the community as it did
to bring us together. And London needs a Pride event that unites
the LGBT community, not one that divides it.
To that end, G-A-Y and Gay Star News are organising an event at
5.30pm on Wednesday 25
July at Heaven, Under the Arches, Villiers Street, London, WC2N 6NG
(disabled access available through Hungerford Lane exit),
which aims to bring everyone together and think about what we the
communities want in the long-term. G-A-Y boss Jeremy Joseph said:
"The problem with Pride London is that its not an open
organization. We will never make everybody happy with a pride event
because our community is so diverse, however, it is important that
everyone gets a say and whoever takes on London Pride for 2013
needs to be answerable to the community, whether it be via gay
press or forum meetings like this. London Pride will always face
problems in organizing an event in the capital city and when those
problems arise, everyone has the right to know. This is day one of
hopefully changing Pride into an open and honest organization and
this is your chance to have a say."
I welcome this move and urge you all to go along and make your
views heard.
