Let’s face it: this year’s Pride is full of some of London’s most colourful characters. Standing out and showing your support will be tough, but with our tips, it can be done! Before we go onto these tips, however, a little information on the parade first.
London Pride celebrations already begun, with the start date being on 18th June 2016, and finishing on Sunday 26th June. The main London Pride Parade is on Saturday 25th June between 1:00 pm and 4:30 pm, starting at Portland Place and moving through Piccadilly Circus, Pall Mall, Cockspur Street, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, and then dispersing at Whitehall Place. The parade starts assembling at 9 am, so that gives you a few hours to meet up with any friends before the actual parade starts. So, here’s a few suggestions to show one of the year’s most important LGBT events your support …#1 - The Classic Rainbow Flag
Sure, there’ll be plenty of Pride flags all over the place, but there’s probably no better way of helping show a little solidarity than the classic Rainbow flag. We here at Escapades have lots of rainbow-inspired costumes and accessories, including dresses, wigs, tunics, capes and more. They make for some excellent group costumes, too.
#2 -Dress Up as One of Your LGBT Heros or Heroines
Whether it’s celebrities like Stephen Fry, Dusty Springfield and Sir Ian McKellen, historical & literary figures like Virginia Woolf, Daphne du Maurier and Aphra Behn, or fictional characters like Zed (Pulp Fiction), Piper Chapman (Orange is the New Black) and Loras Tyrell (A Game of Thrones), there’s lots to choose from. A great way to dress up for any after-parties, Pride in the Park or any other Pride events over the coming week, too.
#3 - Attend One of the Many Other Pride Events
Pride isn’t all just about the parade. There’s the aforementioned Pride in the Park at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens on Sunday 26th June, as well as Pride in Soho on Friday 25th June, a special Natural History Museum June Lates exhibition on Friday 24th June and a Pride live music fundraiser on Thursday 23rd June with Sonia Leigh and Toya Delazy. So don a costume, show some support and head on down to one of many Pride events over the week.
#4 - Show the World What You're Good At!
Pride is all about expressing yourself. Good at baking? Make some cakes and hand them out to parade participants! Want to paint a picture or do some art inspired by Pride? Why not do so? Feel free to give away lots of glitter, too. Everybody likes glitter!#5 - The Pride Theme
This year’s theme for the Pride campaign this year is #NoFilter, which details the difficulties LGBT+ people have in being themselves at work and in public. Use this theme to inspire your costumes at Pride and beyond. As the theme’s about living life without filters, put on the craziest makeup and wigs you can! Go wild and get creative!
So, what are you waiting for? Come on down to Escapade in Camden (we’re not far from many of Pride’s main events, either) and celebrate Pride with pride!