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Pride in London set to be world’s ‘biggest Pride event this year’
Parades return after two years of cancellations
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Your support makes all the difference.Pride in London’s 2022 parade has topped the list of global Pride celebrations this year, as it prepares to return for the first time since 2019.
This year’s celebration will also mark 50 years since the first Pride took place in the UK.
According to a new survey by Gay Times and Airbnb, tens of thousands of nights have been booked across the world coinciding with Pride weekends this summer.
The most common date for Pride weekend, 24 June, is one of the most searched-for check-in dates.
The survey, which involved more than 15,000 LGBT+ people around the world, found that nearly two-thirds of respondents are continuing to embrace international travel as restrictions eased throughout the Covid pandemic.
More than 60 per cent of respondents said they looked for LGBT+ experiences, such as Pride celebrations, while traveling.
It comes after parades all over the world were cancelled for two years running in 2020 and 2021 due to coronavirus restrictions.
Following Pride in London, other cities holding Pride parades in the top 10 include Paris, Rome, Los Angeles, Lisbon, Barcelona, Toronto, New York City, Milan, and Madrid.
The data also showed the top 10 most hospitable Pride destinations, with Portland, ranking highest, followed by San Francisco, Bristol, Seattle, Austin, Sao Paulo, Glasgow, Mykonos, Edinburgh, and Los Angeles.
This year, Pride in London will be held on Saturday 2 July.
The campaign will commemorate the last 50 years of the movement and its evolution, and will also look forward to the next 50 years.
During the march, participants will be calling on the government to ban conversion therapy for all LGBT+ people, reform the Gender Recognition Act, provide equal protection for LGBT+ communities against hate crime, and establish a national AIDS memorial.
Tag Warner, CEO of Gay Times, said: “LGBT+ people face varying challenges and obstacles when traveling abroad. It’s often not enough to understand local laws on LGBT+ rights, but also the social perspective from citizens – which often varies from city to city in any given country.
“On the other hand, data from this Gay Times study shows that LGBT+ people often travel to embrace themselves and their identity – knowing this can sometimes be easier when away from home.
“After speaking with our audience on their own travel plans, we’re expecting a significant increase in LGBT+ travel around Pride this summer. Many Pride protests and celebrations have been cancelled since 2019 and queer travellers are ready to take part again.”
Haven Thorn, a spokesperson for Airbnb, added: “Tens of thousands of nights have been already booked for Pride weekends across multiple continents, and the UK is home to 7 of the top 50 global prides this year.
“With Pride coming back in a big way after a much too long pause, the opportunity of hosting on Airbnb remains significant. In 2019, when Pride was last happening in person, [Airbnb hosts] around the world collectively earned more than £60 million as they opened their homes to welcome LGBTQ+ guests from all over the world.”
The Independent is the official publishing partner of Pride in London 2022.
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