London marks 50 years of Pride

London on Saturday celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first Pride parade, marking half a century of progress in the fight for equality and tolerance but with warnings that more still needs to be done.

Several hundred people took part in the first march on July 1, 1972, walking from Hyde Park Corner to Trafalgar Square, just five years after homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK.

Fifty years on, more than 600 LGBTQ+ groups were among expected crowds of over one million, dancing, singing and riding floats along a similar route to the original protest, in the first Pride since the coronavirus pandemic.