London is bidding to host the world’s largest international Pride festival in 2032 as the city marks 60 years since its first official Pride march.
WorldPride is held every other year and brings together people from across the globe to celebrate LGBTQ+ diversity, identity, and belonging.
The event is being held in Amsterdam this year and will then be celebrated in Cape Town in 2028, before London hopes to take the reins in 2032, with The Independent acting as one of its media partners.
London’s bid coincides with the 60th anniversary of the city’s very first Pride march in 1972.
which was a response to New York’s Stonewall riots. The number attending was just a fraction of the estimated 1.5 million who attended this year’s Pride in London event.
The bid was announced on Thursday at a special reception during WorldPride Amsterdam at the British Council, with the launch of a design competition and global photography campaign.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community from across the globe have been invited to submit photographs celebrating identity, allyship and belonging. These photos will be transformed into a living mosaic created from thousands of community photographs that hope to tell the story of pride in all its forms.
The bid also invites creatives across the UK to submit an original logo design. If London is successful in its bid, the winning design will become London’s official WorldPride 2032 bid logo.
The logo design will be unveiled at the end of October through an immersive installation across Outernet London’s world-famous digital screens, with photos from the campaign on show, with the designer receiving a £3,000 prize. Entries, to be submitted via the Pride in London website, will close on 25 September and the winner will be announced at the start of October.
Rebecca Paisis, the interim CEO of Pride in London, which is co-leading the bid with Outernet and UK Black Pride, has said that community is a core part of the bid.
“Pride has always been powered by community,” she added. As we launch London’s bid for WorldPride 2032, we want our community to help shape its future from the very beginning.
“We’re looking for bold, inspiring designs that capture London’s unique spirit and photographs that celebrate Pride in all its forms across the world. As we approach the 60th anniversary of London’s first Pride march, this project gives every generation an opportunity to leave their mark on what could become one of the defining moments in our movement’s history.”
The Independent and The Standard are official news media partners of the bid and will contribute photography from decades of Pride coverage to help tell the story of London’s LGBTQ+ journey as part of the final artwork and create a tangible bridge between Pride’s past and its future.
Beth Gordon, The Independent’s brand marketing and communications director, said: “The Independent and The Standard have proudly documented London’s Pride movement for decades.
As steadfast campaigners for LGBTQ+ communities, we are delighted that images from our archives will help tell this remarkable story, preserving the history of Pride while contributing to its future.”
The Independent has partnered with Pride in London for five years during Pride Month, building on the publication’s long history of LGBTQ+ campaigning and reporting. Its team joined thousands of marchers and took part in the Pride in London parade on 4 July this year.
Kicking off Pride Month in June, The Independent published its Pride List, continuing a decades-long tradition of championing LGBTQ+ figures in Britain across entertainment, sport, business, law, fashion, politics, campaigning and the arts.
Comedian Alan Carr topped the list following his unforgettable victory on The Celebrity Traitors in November last year, followed by one of the Women’s Rugby World Cup winners, Meg Jones; transgender rights advocate and healthcare worker Stephanie Lynette; drag queen Bimini; and Green Party leader Zack Polanski.
The mayor of London and TripAdvisor are also supporting the London World Pride 2032 bid.
