London's transport network is planning to wrap its vehicles and decorate the Underground with rainbow patterns as part of its biggest ever campaign for LGBT Pride.

To raise awareness for the campaign that champions the rights of the LGBT+ community, Transport for London is applying the colourful designs to its bus stops and at major Tube stations.

Fifty of the capital’s Santander bikes have been adorned with the same pattern for this year's special anniversary event, which marks half a century since homosexuality was legalised in the UK.

And posters carrying the message of this year’s ‘Love Is Love’ slogan are being pasted above entrances to the busy Oxford Street and Tottenham Court road Tube stations.

Pride organisers said they are more than ever promoting a “message of hope, acceptance, activism and love,” with Sadiq Khan adding: “Here in London, you're free to love whoever you want to love and be whoever you want to be.”

The Mayor of London said: “That's just one of the reasons why our city is seen as a beacon for the LGBT+ community and has such a vibrant, thriving scene - one that is bursting with colour, and contributes hugely to the life and soul of London.”

The campaign’s main draw, the Pride in London parade, falls on Saturday July 8, beginning at around 1pm. And the two weeks of Pride festivities run from Saturday June 24 until Sunday July 9.

Last year’s parade drew about one million people to the capital’s streets, with 40,000 partaking in the official parade.

The first official march was in 1972 and saw 2,000 men and women take part.