London Pride 2026 LIVE: Tens of thousands line streets as colourful LGBTQ+ parade takes over capital

There was more jubilation in central London this afternoon as thousands of Pride revellers celebrated the end of the finish line at Whitehall and took part in the festivities at Trafalgar Square.

Tens of thousands of people from across the LGBTQ spectrum are out marching today in a celebration of openness and diversity.

Marchers in the Pride in London parade were in high spirits as they crossed the finish line at Whitehall, having set off from Hyde Park Corner earlier in the afternoon.

Around 35,000 celebrants are understood to have taken to central London, with a parade led by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, as well as a celebration at Trafalgar Square to be headlined by MNEK, with Beth Ditto and Meek as special guests.

“Our society is really good,” says Lee Bissett, an NHS worker who has just arrived from his night shift.

He tells The Standard: “There’s a whole lot of negativity in the news and the media, but actually ultimately, we are a good country who care and love each other.”

Ms Bissett added that everyone has a duty to “stand up for everybody” whether it’s members of the gay, trans, or Muslim communities.

He explained a lot of the hatred in London is because of people “othering each other.”

“We just need to remember that we’re actually more the same than different,” he said.

London Pride may take place across just a small square in the capital, but Jonny tells The Standard that today’s festivities stand for everyone around the world.

He explains: “London Pride is just acceptance for everybody around the world.

“There’s a lot of places where people can’t be gay, but London is accepting for everyone and everyone is welcome.”

He added that there is a still a lot of homophobia in the capital so raising awareness was still “important.”

People of all ages have joined in the London Pride festivities, including 13-year-old Marguerita.

She tells the London Standard that “Love is love and love isn’t a crime and it’s okay to be different.”

As she cheers on the procession, the LGBTQ Families float sails by to loud cheers from the crowd. The event has drawn in everyone from parents with newborn babies to pensioners.

Connor, one member of the crowd, said: “I see [Pride] more as a protest as years go on. We’re seeing a lot more now that gay rights are being challenged, even within our own country.

“So I think it’s more important that we have events like this that act up and shout out about, you know, it’s okay to be gay!”

He added that London Pride was an opportunity for the LGBTQ community to shine on the international stage, but said there was room for the government to do more.

Paul is just one of the thousands who have lined the streets of Piccadilly as the parade passes the Main Stage at Trafalgar Square.

Dancing to the beat of Sir Sadiq’s float, Paul tells The Standard: “Pride is just an amazing celebration of inclusivity every year.“It just gives me such a good feeling to come down here and celebrate that London is so welcoming.”

Cllr Hina Bokhari wished marchers a happy pride while affirming on X: “There is no LGB without the T”.

The leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the London Assembly was filmed saying: “I hope everyone is having an amazing pride today. Pride is a fantastic celebration but it’s also a vital form of protest.

“It’s a march for visibility, a march for dignity, a march for safety, and ever since Stonewall, trans women like Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera have always been at the heart of that struggle.”

She later shared the clip on X, alongside the caption: “There is no LGB without the T.”

The caption prompted a wave of critical replies. One response stated: “You have absolutely no right to tell gay people who we may or may not politically organise with and who we have interests in common with.”

A gay rights activist said the Pride in London march was important with “rights being taken away from trans people” in the UK.

Speaking at the front of the parade, Julian Hows, 70, who was expelled from school for early gay rights activism in 1971, told journalists: “Pride is important every year.

“I’ve been coming to Pride marches since 1972 when the policemen outnumbered the marchers. It’s a visible display, a visible manifestation of all our Christmases, our Easters, our whatever, all rolled up into one.”

Mr Hows, who wore a rainbow-coloured waistcoat with Abseil Against Section 28 and Gay Liberation Front pins, added: “Pride is also important because it needs to have an underlying level of protest, and you can see the freedoms that we have can so easily be taken away.

“We also always need to push further because there’s always somewhere where our rights are being taken away.

“Whether it’s in this country with Reform, whether it’s this country with rights being taken away from trans people, whether it’s abroad in other countries.”

Activists are processing past Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall as part of the Pride in London march. Spectators cheered as floats full of people dancing and speakers playing music drove through central London.

Many people watching the parade were wearing rainbow colours and carried Pride flags amid chants of “Happy Pride”. Companies that have sponsored floats at the parade include Lidl, Tesco and Ikea, with the Swedish furniture brand’s float carrying the message: “Love doesn’t require instructions”.

London-based football teams including Arsenal, West Ham and Crystal Palace also had floats in the parade.