Gay Pride toasts 50th, goes online

After half a century of gains, LGBT stands strong for dignity and love

Fifty years on from the first Gay Pride march, the LGBT community and their supporters took many of their events online Saturday, responding to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

While some activists took to the streets to mark the event, much of the movement’s energy was channeled into Global Pride, a 24-hour online event broadcast live online.

London Pride, one of the biggest events in the Gay Pride calendar, was one major victim of the new restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

Online events replaced it under the slogan: “Postponed, but still united.”

But veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell, wearing a rainbowcolored mask, led a group of 12 fellow activists to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the London Gay Liberation Front.

“We are seeking to reclaim Pride as an event for LGBT+ human rights,” said the 68-yearold campaigner.

Some events were broadcast on the giant screen in Piccadilly Square and London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, tweeted his support.

“We may be apart, but we are still united, as neighbours, as allies, and as one city.”

In Berlin, police estimated that around 3,500 people marched in temperatures of around 30 C.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted a message of support to the Global Pride event: “Be proud of yourself! No matter who you love, no matter where you live.”

In Vienna, around 200 cars and motorbikes decked out in rainbow flags and inflatable unicorns paraded down the city’s famous Ringstrasse on Saturday afternoon.

Organizers said around 5,000 people turned out to watch the scaled-down event. Vienna’s Rainbow Parade, which normally attracts hundreds of thousands of people, was otherwise replaced by online events.

The online Global Pride event – running with the slogan “Exist, persist, resist” – got underway at 0500 GMT in London.

Fronted by singer and drag queen Todrick Hall, known for his role on the American Idol talent show, it also featured stars, such as Kesha and Ava Max.

Politicians were also appearing, including Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, whose country has just legalized gay marriage.

Global Pride, put together by the organizers of several of the major Gay Pride events around the world, was aiming to attract hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.

In the US, former president Barack Obama released a video message paying tribute to the gay New Yorkers who rioted at the Stonewall Inn in 1969, effectively launching the modern gay rights movement.