Pride in London may still be cancelled this year, if it doesn’t get enough money and volunteers to go ahead.



The LGBT festival, parade and rally in the UK capital was saved after the previous organizing committee collapsed last year. They had been heavily criticized for only delivering a ‘scaled back’ World Pride 2012.



Now it’s being run by a new Community Interest Company called London LGBT+ Community Pride.



The new bosses have promised to get LGBT Londoners and their friends fully involved and to build a world-class event in coming years.



But as the unveil plan for the 2013 event, they will tell supporters at an open meeting tonight (19 February) that it could all still have to be shelved this year.



The bidding process to get grant money and the green light from Mayor Boris Johnson’s Greater London Authority (GLA) took so long it only left them with five months to organize the event.



Now the pride bosses have revealed they will make a decision about the parade and party’s viability in April.



It’s all scheduled to happen on 29 June 2013. But if they decide in April they won’t have enough money or volunteers to run a successful, safe event, they’ll cancel it.



A statement from London LGBT+ Community Pride, says: ‘The GLA are providing up to £150,000 to support this year’s event but at least a further £280,000 is needed to put on the show that London rightly expects.



‘This amount of funding is needed to keep everyone safe during the parade and afterwards in Trafalgar Square and Soho. It also enables pride to look great and represent the best the community offers.



‘It takes over 700 volunteers to put on pride; from those undertaking business and resident liaison in advance through to those acting as stewards on the day.



‘The two elements that might prevent ‘ride taking place in 2013 are a lack of funding and a lack of volunteers. If adequate funding and manpower is not secured the event could be scaled back or cancelled.’



Organizers say they want to put out the warning so supporters understand they ‘challenge’ they face and the ‘urgency’ of getting involved.



But they say they are ‘confident’ moving forwards.



They have also announced the theme for Pride in London in 2013 as ‘Love (and Marriage)’.



It reflects legislation currently going through the UK parliament to give gay and lesbian couples in England and Wales full marriage rights, as well as to secure marriage equality for trans people.



And they have said this year’s parade will ‘showcase community groups in chronological order of their founding’ to celebrate their history in the lead up to this landmark legislation which is almost certain to pass this summer.



They want marchers to don wedding dresses, come as famous lovers in history or use their entry in the parade to celebrate the love in families and between partners.



Chairman of London LGBT+ Community Pride, Michael Salter, published a comment on Gay Star News yesterday, saying the event would stand and fall on community engagement.



In today’s statement he added: ‘With such a short lead time this year we need the community and its supporters to really get behind pride – to show the spirit that we saw last year when record numbers of people took part in the parade in reaction to the threat to pride’s survival.



‘Although we are confident in our planning it is true if we are unable to secure the funding and volunteers we need to deliver a safe pride – one that showcases the best of our community – we may have to cancel the event for 2013.



‘Many people don’t appreciate the scale of pride; it is the third biggest annual event in London, it is the only parade that closes Oxford Street, Regent Street and Shaftesbury Avenue as 40,000 people march and nearly a million people pass through the footprint of the event.



‘Organizing something on that scale doesn’t come cheaply and depends on volunteers. So we are calling on potential sponsors and donors and on willing volunteers to step forward and work with us to make London and our community proud.’



More than 200 people from across the community have indicated they will attend the pride open meeting this evening at 7pm at Heaven, in Villiers Street, London.



Details of how to support Pride in London can be found here.

