Almost 55,000 gathered for London Trans+ Pride on July 27, making it the biggest ever organised event by trans-diverse people in the world.
This year, pride celebrated trans people all over the world who shared messages of solidarity and justice saying, ‘none of are free until all of us are free’.
The massive crowd called for equality and improvements to education and the public healthcare system to recognise and support the needs of trans people as much as those of anyone else.
People gathered with their placards, posters, colourful outfits and musical instruments in Langham Place near BBC Broadcasting House, in central London.
Notable attendees in the crowd included Heartstopper actress Yasmin Finney, Trans Legal Clinic founder Olivia Campbell-Cavendish, Married at First Sight star Ella Morgan and founding member of London Trans+ Pride Lewis G. Burton.
Protestors stood in solidarity with the people of Palestine, Sudan, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo over human rights abuse in those regions.
The march passed through Piccadilly Circus and ended at Wellington Arch near Hyde Park Corner around 5pm where the thousand of supporters joined to listen to speeches.
London Trans+ Pride (LTP) is a trans-led community organisation, operating as a collective of volunteers for and with the trans+ community in the UK and organising the annual London+ Pride since 2018.
Watch the video below for more on the sights and sounds of the event, and read on for quotes from participants.
‘Liberation for all’
Attendees hold places cards and chanted ‘trans rights are human rights’, ‘you cannot destroy us”, ‘none of us until all of us’ and ‘freedom forever for all people of the world’.
So many signs showed support for trans youth and demanded liberation for all.
Jasmine Andrever-Wright, originally from Cyprus who now lives in London, said people were gathering for love, solidarity and the advancement of trans people in all sectors of society.
Andrever-Wright said: “We see the same patterns of oppression against transgender people around the world, we see systems of oppression being used to demonize trans people to make them lesser in terms of people’s religion or trying to put them down because they are seen to be against nature for whatever reason.”
Another supporter, Tom Wolff, explained how these kind of events can help their visibility.
They said: “I think there are lots of spaces for us but in the wider society you don’t see yourself reflected everywhere so that makes a huge difference for me.
“It’s a protest against a lot of the laws that are trying to be pushed in, education issues and a lot of difficulties that are trying to force us out of society and be the problem rather than just the people who are trying to live.”
Wolff added: “This makes a huge difference in my emotions. I’m just happy for being here and surrounded by people I love.”
