Gay Pride event continues in London despite recession

July 2, 2009

London is hosting its annual Gay Pride event this coming Saturday and revellers are determined to continue the party despite the doom and gloom of the recession.

The first ever Pride event in London took place in 1972, when 2,000 party-goers took to the streets, many in their most outrageous get-ups, to celebrate their right to homosexuality.

At last year’s event a huge 825,000 people joined the parade, which takes place through the street of central London, closing Oxford Street to traffic for the day.
This year, acts include Boy George, Michael Ashanti, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Avenue Q, and performances will be held at West End landmarks such as Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square.

Although the event only costs £300,000 to stage, as the party is mainly started by the people rather than the organisers, it still proved tough to raise the funds necessary, during the credit crunch. As a result the organisers had to look further afield and collect smaller amounts of sponsorship from a larger number of sponsors. They now hope the event will be the biggest London Pride party yet!