Approximately 20,000 people who wanted to march at the Pride parade in London on Saturday have been told they are not allowed to do so, in a move the march’s co-founder Peter Tatchell has alleged amounts to “anti-LGBT+ discrimination”.



About 50,000 people applied to march, but organisers set a limit of 30,000 at the event, which is authorised by the mayor of London, Westminster council and the Metropolitan police.

The organisers confirmed that 115 groups applied after the cut-off date for applications three months ago and would not be able to march.

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Tatchell said twice the number of people marched last weekend at Dublin’s Pride than would march in London on Saturday and that 50,000 people were allowed to march in central London in support of the NHS on 30 June.

“The limit on the size of Pride feels like anti-LGBT+ discrimination,” the veteran campaigner said. “There are no similar restrictions placed on the numbers at the Notting Hill carnival, which is many times larger than Pride.”

However, the organisers estimate that 1 million people will head into the area to watch the parade, which they stress is not the same as a political march in which there are no spectators.

They said that in order to expand the march they would need to raise more than the £1m the parade currently costs, to hire more stewards and satisfy licence requirements.

The event coincides with the England v Sweden World Cup quarter-final and Alison Camps, co-chair of Pride in London, said: “We obviously wish the England team all the best. We are hoping that all the rainbows, unicorns and glitter will work their magic and send good vibes over to Russia.”

There will be a record 472 groups taking part but a recent survey by Pride in London found Britons care more about animal rights than LGBT rights.

“There’s a real danger in this country that people assume that the battle is over and that the job is done,” Camps said. “We are seeing hate crime increase and the media attacking parts of our community, most notably the trans community.”

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Tatchell helped set up the first London Pride march but said the size and spontaneity of the parade was now being “strangled by regulations, bureaucracy, red tape and the unreasonable dictates of the city authorities”.

The parade is licensed by the mayor of London, Westminster city council, Transport for London and organised with the help of the Metropolitan police.

Tatchell said that in the 1990s 100,000 people marched and would do so again if restrictions were lifted. He also said the parade was dominated by corporate floats, many of which have been “de-gayed” and don’t mention LGBT+, only Pride.

London Pride, which organises the event, said allowing everyone who wanted to march to do so was “not practical at present” and that if they did so the parade could take nine hours.

A spokesperson said it would “continue to review after each year’s event and will work closely with our partners on ways to safely increase the size of the parade. One of the many elements we need to consider is that the 30,000 people participating are looked after by a team of over 500 volunteer stewards who are working shifts of up to 10 hours. If the capacity was increased a large number of new stewards would be needed, which is a challenge.”

Tatchell has attended 46 Pride marches and will march on Saturday. He said: “In 1972 it was a carnival march for LGBT human rights. It was political and fun, without all the restrictions, costs and red tape that are strangling Pride today.

“It’s time to put liberation back at the heart of Pride; to reclaim it as a political march with a party atmosphere. No limits on numbers and no motorised floats. This would dramatically cut costs and bureaucracy, and return Pride to its roots.”

A spokesman for the mayor of London said: “The event is organised by Pride in London, not the GLA, and the mayor does not impose restrictions on the number of people involved in the parade or charge organisers.”

