London Trans+ Pride is a pride march advocating transgender rights held in London, England, United Kingdom.
London Trans+ Pride was founded in 2019 by a collective group of trans+ people including artists Finn Love and Lucia Blayke, inspired by Trans Pride Brighton.[1] It was founded in part due to a rising climate of transphobia in the UK and across the world, as well as in response to an anti-transgender protest controversy that occurred at the Pride in London march in 2018, where eight anti-trans activists took the lead of the march without authorisation.[2] [3] [4] The event was originally scheduled to take place in Hackney, East London but was moved to central London and has remained there in subsequent years.[5] The 2019 march was held in September and saw attendance of around 1500 people.[6] [7]
The 2020 march saw attendance of 4000 people, with a number of COVID-19 safety measures put in place by the organisers, and called for legal recognition of non-binary identities and a ban on intersex genital mutilation.[8] It also included a memorial to Elie Che, a prominent transgender London activist and performer who died in August of that year.[9]
The 2021 march was held in June, and included calls for a ban on conversion therapy, greater access to healthcare for trans people, and a ban on intersex genital mutilation.[10] The event included speeches by Munroe Bergdorf, Ki Griffin, Bimini Bon-Boulash, Abigail Thorn, and Kai-Isaiah Jamal.[11] [12]
The 2022 march was held in July, with attendance of over 20,000 people.[13] [14] The event called to "celebrate the memory of trans lives taken and uphold the next generation of trans revolutionaries," and included speeches by Yasmin Finney and Charlie Craggs.[15] [16] Abigail Thorn said at the event that "legally and politically", trans people in the country "are not allowed to control our own lives".
In 2023, it was estimated 25,000-35,000 people attended the march.[17] The organisers emphasised the event was still a protest in what was called the "biggest ever" call for trans rights in the UK.[18]
In 2024, 55,000 people attended the march, motivated in part by the British government’s recently enacted ban on puberty blockers.[19]
Since 2021, London Trans+ Pride has been run by a volunteer organizing committee which includes Em Williams, Sweatmother, Janeway, Mars, Lulu-Belle as well as many who have wished to remain anonymous.[20] [21] In addition to the yearly protest, London Trans+ Pride march, they also hold additional events for trans advocacy including a takeover of the NOMAD stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2023.[22]
On 29 July 2024, a confirmed 55,000 to 60,000+ people attended London Trans+ Pride, making it biggest trans pride march in the world to date.[23]