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Pride in a Time of Crisis - Shokti

I have been going to Gay Pride events since the mid 1980s, seen Pride grow in size, seen the emphasis shift from protest to party to diverse and inclusive community parade; seen the spread of Pride events to cites and towns around the UK. I've often been on the London march and went for years to the Park parties across the city in Jubilee Gardens, Kennington Park, Clapham Common, Brockwell Park, Finsbury Park and Victoria Park. I've been involved in the debates about the presence of the military, police and corporations at Pride and was part of the D-I-Y 'La-Di-Dah' alternative prides held in response to the over-hyped commercial nature of the ridiculously titled Pride Mardi Gras in London in the mid 2000s.

In recent years I have held back and observed Pride – and been utterly impressed by the atmosphere of celebration, playful free expression alongside important political statements and a stunning, smiling manifestation of the incredible racial, sexual and generational diversity of our global community. The streets of central London are filled with colour and joy – and feel SAFE - the positivity is palpable – so is the energetic shift when one leaves the Pride zone into the more usual monochromatic, edgy, guarded cultural vibrations of the age.