50 photos of Pride to mark movement’s 50th anniversary

50 pictures for 50 years of Pride
Half a century of Delight has created some iconic imagery (Image: Getty/Rex)

The UK’s first ever Delight demonstration happened in July 1972 – three years after the LGBTQ+ group fought again in opposition to police harassment in New York’s Stonewall riots.

The 1972 march was attended by round 700 individuals in London – however within the 50 years since, Delight has exploded right into a landmark fixture on the British calendar and is now celebrated in cities and cities throughout the nation.

Now that includes a yearly dose of protest, color, marches, dancing, frivolity and, in fact, fabulous type, the evolution of Delight during the last half a century has been outstanding.

This Delight month, Metro.co.uk is being visitor edited by a sequence of key figures from the LGBTQ+ world – with activist Peter Tatchell in command of information at this time.

As a part of the sequence, we're taking you thru 50 of our favorite photographs from the final 50 years of Delight within the UK – together with a few pictures of Peter.

First up, we glance again on just a few older photographs – together with some from the 1972 occasion – and supply up a taster of the campaigning on show through the years.

Gay pride 1972 (Picture: Jamie Gardiner)
London’s first Homosexual pleasure march, in 1972, was a relatively small, however pioneering occasion (Image: Jamie Gardiner)

Gay pride 1972 - 1 - (Picture: Jamie Gardiner)
Round 2,000 folks attended on July 1, the closest Saturday to the anniversary of the Stonewall riots three years earlier (Image: Jamie Gardiner)

Procession of marchers and police at Gay Pride march in London, 1974
Tongue-in-cheek activism was on show in 1974, with one banner studying ‘homosexuals are revolting’ (Image: LSE Library)

5th August 1976: Gay men picnic in Victoria Gardens by the Houses of Parliament, London, during 'Gay Pride Week'. Their balloons have the slogan 'Glad to be Gay'.(Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)
Males get pleasure from a picnic in the Victoria Gardens park by the Homes of Parliament in 1976 (Image: Hulton Archive)

Gay Pride demonstration at the Old Bailey, in occasion of the start of the prosecution alleging blasphemous libel brought by Mary Whitehouse against the homosexual newspaper Gay News, London, UK, 4th July 1977. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
In 1977, there was a Homosexual Delight demonstration on the Outdated Bailey, amid a trial alleging blasphemous libel, introduced by Mary Whitehouse in opposition to the Homosexual Information newspaper (Image: Getty Pictures)

UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 12: TRAFALGAR SQUARE Photo of GAY PRIDE (Photo by Mick Gold/Redferns)
A 1978 photograph, additionally that includes Homosexual Information, exhibits a big crowd in Trafalgar Sq. for Delight (Image: Redferns)

Gay celebrations in London as supporters take part in a carnival at the end of the International Gay Pride Week, an event marking the tenth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York, and with them the birth of the gay Liberation Movement.
There have been celebrations in London in 1979 on the finish of what was then referred to as Worldwide Homosexual Delight Week, an occasion marking the tenth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots (Image: PA)

Police accompany the carnival winding its way through London at the end of the International Gay Pride Week, an event marking the tenth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York, and with them the birth of the gay Liberation Movement.
That 12 months, police accompanied the carnival winding its manner via London – with police involvement within the occasion to develop into a recurring theme in years to return (Image: PA)

Lesbian and Gay Pride March 1983 through the streets of central London escorted by police. June 1983. (Photo by Carl Bruin/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Police escorted the 1983 march via the streets of centre of the capital, when it was renamed Lesbian and Homosexual Delight (Image: Getty Pictures)

A lesbian couple hold hands during the annual Gay Pride march through central London, 19th June 1993. (Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
A lesbian couple maintain palms throughout Delight in 1993 (Image: Hulton Archive)

Two young men sharing a tender moment on the grass during a Gay Pride festival in London, 1996. (Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
And two younger males share a young second in London three years later, in 1996. (Image: Getty Pictures)

Mayor of London Boris Johnson (left) and Peter Tachell (centre) join revellers taking part in the Pride London parade on Regent Street in central London.
Now Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) with Metro.co.uk visitor editor Peter Tachell (centre) at a Delight march in Regents’ Road (Image: PA)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Paul Brown/REX/Shutterstock (1369232an) Gay lawyers campaigning for equality under the law in the London Gay Pride Parade 2011 London Gay Pride 2011, London, Britain - 02 Jul 2011
Homosexual attorneys campaigned for equality below the regulation in 2011 (Image: Shutterstock)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Karel Prinsloo/EPA/REX/Shutterstock (7692072j) Members of the Royal Navy March Behins a Costumed Participant During the Annual Gay Pride Parade in London Britain 07 July 2012 United Kingdom London Britain Gay Pride Parade - Jul 2012
Members of the Royal Navy march behind a scantily dressed participant in 2012 (Image: Shutterstock)

Members of the Gay and Lesbian community parade through London to celebrate the World Pride Festival on July 7, 2012. AFP PHOTO/ANDREW COWIE (Photo credit should read Andrew Cowie/AFP/GettyImages)
Two Delight goers declare themselves ‘proud to be trans’ in 2012 (Image: Getty Pictures)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Joel Goodman/Lnp/REX/Shutterstock (5011993c) Sir Ian McKellen Manchester Pride parade, Manchester, Britain - 29 Aug 2015
Sir Ian McKellen enjoys himself at Manchester Delight in entrance of an activist banner in 2015 (Image: Shutterstock)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Joel Goodman/Lnp/REX/Shutterstock (5848545ap) Placards featuring gay heroes Manchester Pride, UK - 27 Aug 2016
Homosexual icons took their place on placards on the 2016 Delight occasion in Manchester (Image: Shutterstock)

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell takes part in Gay Pride, an annual lesbian and homosexual march through central London today.
Peter Tatchell requires an finish to the ban on homosexual marriage, years earlier than it was lastly allowed in 2013 (Image: PA)

People pay tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting as they take part in the annual Pride London Parade which highlights issues of the gay, lesbian and transgender community, in London, Britain June 25, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall - LR1EC6P166YN1
Delight has lengthy been an occasion the place numerous totally different causes are represented and present affairs mirrored – in 2016, after the Orlando taking pictures at a homosexual nightclub, these Delight goers declared their solidarity (Image: Reuters)

BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 27: Thousands of members of the LGBTQ community gathered today for the Birmingham Pride parade on May 27, 2017 in Birmingham, England. The Birmingham Pride is an annual festival for the LGBTQ community usually taking place over the Spring Bank Holiday. The event begins with a parade from Victoria Square in the city center to the Gay Village in Hurst Street. PHOTOGRAPH BY Jim Wood / (Photo credit should read Jim Wood/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
In 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin was focused by banners in Birmingham (Image: Getty Pictures)

Although nonetheless underpinned by activism and campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights, Delight grew to become more and more mainstream because the years glided by.

Teams just like the police, seen by some as persecutors of the LGBTQ+ group, now commonly play a supportive function, whereas many celebrities make some extent of exhibiting their faces – together with a somewhat confused trying present prime minister (see under).

The occasion additionally grew to become extra business, as massive corporations made efforts to hyperlink their model to the trigger, which has led to accusations of them each supporting Delight and gaining good PR from their involvement.

Rainbow flags and colors grew to become synonymous with Delight and solidarity with the LGBTQ+ group within the UK and worldwide.

We take your via a few of these themes within the photographs under.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Dinendra Haria/REX/Shutterstock (8923736s) Participants arrive for the Pride London Parade. Over 26,000 people will take part in one of the world's biggest LGBT + celebrations. LGBT Pride Parade, London, UK - 08 Jul 2017
Delight has develop into more and more mainstream from its different beginnings, as this escalator decor underlined in 2017 (Image: Shutterstock)

Revellers take part in the Pride London parade on Regent Street in central London.
An extended flag weaves its manner down Regent Road in central London, as the general public prove en masse to indicate their assist (Image: PA)

July 4, 2010: Big Wheel Aka London Eye Lit Up With The Rainbow Colours During Pride Night, London, Uk (Credit Image: ?? Dosfotos/Design Pics via ZUMA Wire)
All kinds of monuments are lit up in Delight colors for the occasion, just like the London Eye – seen right here in 2010 (Image: Zuma)

The Metropolitan Police’s Brian Paddick joins different overtly homosexual law enforcement officials marching via central London in 2003 – Delight additionally showcases the discrimination confronted by the LGBTQ+ group (Image: PA)

LONDON - JULY 05: Lord Mayor Boris Johnson attends the Gay Pride parade on July 5, 2008 in London. The parade consists of celebrities, floats, and performers celebrating the UK's largest gay and lesbian festival. (Photo by Mark Wieland/Getty Images) (Photo by Mark Wieland/Getty Images)
Mr Johnson seems to be considerably misplaced and confused at Delight in 2008, the 12 months he was elected Mayor of London (Image: Getty Pictures)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Singer Boy George takes part in this year London Pride March on July 4, 2009 in London, England. This years London Pride's theme is entitled 'Come Out and Play' the parade sets off from Baker Street to Trafalgar Square where there will be stalls and a main stage for performers. The streets of Soho will also be closed to traffic to play host to a London Pride street party. (Photo by Marco Secchi/Getty Images)
Singer Boy George, seen right here in 2009, is one in every of numerous celebrities who attends Delight (Image: Getty Pictures)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Anthony Harvey/REX/Shutterstock (9438064s) Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Saunders Stars Of 'Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie' Attend Pride, London, United Kingdom - 25 Jun 2016
Ab Fab duo Joanna Lumley (proper) and Jennifer Saunders get within the temper in 2016 (Image: Shutterstock)

A participant walks a pink-coloured dog during the annual gay pride parade in London June 28, 2014. REUTERS/Neil Hall (BRITAIN - Tags: SOCIETY ANIMALS) - GM1EA6S1SI001
A pink canine widens the backing of Delight to a different species in 2014 (Image: Reuters)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Matthew Chattle/REX/Shutterstock (5736882e) The Pride 2016 parade passes by the crowds near Trafalgar Square. London Pride, UK - 25 Jun 2016
Even site visitors lights are in on the 2016 act (Image: Shutterstock)

A participant attends the annual Pride in London parade, in London, Britain July 6, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1DFF3B38D0
Motion Man makes an look in an unlikely setting (Image: Reuters)

Alongside the activism and LGBTQ+ human rights calls for on show, there's additionally loads of good quaint enjoyable at Delight.

It's seen as an occasion the place the LGBTQ+ group may be themselves in a protected area, with out the discrimination many nonetheless face in each day life.

Under are a few of our favorite pictures, proudly exhibiting inclusivity, good humour, cheek, enjoyable and assist for LGBTQ+ human rights.

This 12 months’s London occasion, on Saturday, July 2, 2022, guarantees extra of the identical: get together and protest. We hope to see you there.

A transvestite applying lipgloss during Lesbian and Gay Pride, London, 24th June 1995. (Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Lipgloss is generously utilized by one participant in 1995 (Image: Getty Pictures)

Men in camouflage trousers riding a pink tank and carrying rainbow flags during the Lesbian and Gay Pride event, London, 24th June 1995. (Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
This pink tank was commandeered by revellers that very same 12 months leaving little likelihood of not seeing the lads on board in camouflage trousers (Image: Getty Pictures)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by London News Pictures/REX/Shutterstock (2884862b) Boy Georges Gay Pride Parade in Manchester, Britain - 24 Aug 2013 This year's theme is 1980s
Music and LGBTQ+ celebrities have lengthy performed a major function in Delight (Image: Shutterstock)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Paul Brown/REX/Shutterstock (957907bj) Reveller London Pride, Gay Parade 2009, London, Britain - 04 Jul 2009 London was awash with colour today for its annual Gay Pride Parade. A carnival atmosphere filled the capital's streets as more than half a million people took part in the flamboyant parade which, this year, had the theme 'Come Out and Play'. A host of outrageously dressed drag queens, dancers and musicians brought Oxford Street to a standstill as onlookers stopped to watch. One of those in attendance was Prime Minister's wife Sarah Brown, who had earlier welcomed some of the parade's organisers to Downing Street.
A precariously-perched hat sits on high of an elaborate wig in 2009 (Image: Shutterstock)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Jason Alden/REX/Shutterstock (1369233a) Revelers take part in the annual Gay Pride march London Gay Pride 201, London, Britain - 02 Jul 2011
Folks march arm in arm, fists aloft at London’s Delight march in 2011 (Image: Shutterstock)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Andy Sturmey/LNP/REX/Shutterstock (8984368e) Crowd enjoying the annual outdoor event, the biggest, and boldest Pride celebration in the UK Gay Pride Festival, Brighton, UK - 06 Aug 2017
Attention-grabbing nipple ornament greets crowds in Brighton (Image: Shutterstock)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Paul Brown/REX/Shutterstock (1793635g) Festival-goers, World Pride 2012, London, Britain World Pride 2012, London, Britain - 07 Jul 2012
Intricate make-up and outfits are sometimes the order of the day at Delight, like this outstanding 2012 get-up (Image: Shutterstock)

Revellers dressed as nuns take part in the London Pride Parade 2013 in central London.
Three individuals dressed as nuns for the 2013 London Delight (Image: PA)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 27: People take part in the annual Pride in London Parade on June 27, 2015 in London, England. Pride in London is one of the world's biggest LGBT+ celebrations as thousands of people take part in a parade and attend performances at various locations across the city. (Photo by Rob Stothard/Getty Images)
Delight in London is now one of many world’s largest LGBT+ celebrations (Image: Getty Pictures)

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: A police officer advises festival goer of the new route that has been set for the parade following a bomb scare during Brighton Pride 2015 on August 1, 2015 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Tabatha Fireman/Getty Images)
Nevertheless it hasn’t all been enjoyable and video games – in August 2015 in Brighton, an elaborately dressed Delight goer was suggested by police a few new route for the march following a bomb scare (Image: Getty Pictures)

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: (EDITORS NOTE: Image was created using a variable planed lens) A man carries the rainbow flag as he takes part in the Brighton Pride Parade on August 6, 2016 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
A person carries the rainbow flag and a few quirky goggles to go together with his beard in Brighton in 2016 (Image: Getty Pictures)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Joel Goodman/Lnp/REX/Shutterstock (9027043u) People on Canal Street in Manchester's Gay Village on the opening night of Manchester Pride's Big Weekend Manchester Pride Festival, Day 1, UK - 25 Aug 2017 Opening night of Manchester Pride's Big Weekend. The annual festival, which is the largest of its type in Europe, celebrates LGBT life.
Folks on Canal Road in Manchester’s Homosexual Village get caught in for Delight 2017 (Image: Shutterstock)

Pride in London Participants, United Kingdom, on July 7, 2018. (Photo by Alex Cavendish/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Abs have been on show in London in 2018 (Image: Getty Pictures)

BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 27: Thousands of members of the LGBTQ community gathered today for the Birmingham Pride parade on May 27, 2017 in Birmingham, England. The Birmingham Pride is an annual festival for the LGBTQ community usually taking place over the Spring Bank Holiday. The event begins with a parade from Victoria Square in the city center to the Gay Village in Hurst Street. PHOTOGRAPH BY Jim Wood / (Photo credit should read Jim Wood/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
These two males seem like homosexual (and really happy with it) (Image: Getty Pictures)

TOPSHOT - Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community take part in the annual Pride Parade in London on July 7, 2018. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)
A carnival ambiance greets Londoners in 2018 (Image: AFP)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Joel Goodman/LNP/REX/Shutterstock (10371756ab) Two women share a kiss. Manchester Pride, UK - 25 Aug 2019 Manchester's Gay Pride festival which is the largest of its type in Europe celebrates LGBTQ + life.
Two ladies share a kiss at Manchester Delight in 2019 (Image: Shutterstock)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 06: A parade goer wears a rainbow Niqab during Pride in London 2019 on July 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Pride in London)
A parade goer wears a rainbow Niqab (Image: Getty Pictures)

Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community and supporters take part in the Belfast Pride Parade 2019 in Belfast, Northern Ireland on August 3, 2019. - Northern Ireland's LGBT community take to the streets of Belfast in Pride celebrations buoyed by the promise that same-sex marriage rights will soon be extended to the province. (Photo by Paul Faith / AFP) (Photo credit should read PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images)
Mobility scooter-using Delight goers take to the streets of Belfast for Northern Eire Delight celebrations (Image: AFP)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 24: Activists hold banners and placards as thousands attend the Reclaim Pride march on July 24, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty images)
Activists make their emotions identified on the Reclaim Delight march in July final 12 months (Image: Getty Pictures)

Reveller takes a selfie during the Pride in London parade on 06 July, 2019 in London, England. The festival, which this year celebrates 50 years since the Stonewall Uprising, attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the streets of the British capital to celebrate the LGBT+ community. (Photo by WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A younger reveller takes a selfie over the last London Delight parade earlier than the Covid disaster, in July 2019 (Image: Getty Pictures)


Assist us elevate £10k for Kyiv Delight and a UK LGBT+ charity

To rejoice 50 years of Delight, Metro.co.uk has teamed up with Kyiv Delight to boost cash for his or her necessary work in Ukraine.

Regardless of battle raging round them, Kyiv Delight proceed to assist LGBTQ+ folks, providing these in want shelter, meals and psychological assist.

We will probably be splitting the money with a grassroots charity nearer to dwelling.

You may donate right here


Metro.co.uk celebrates 50 years of Delight

This 12 months marks 50 years of Delight, so it appears solely becoming that Metro.co.uk goes above and past in our ongoing LGBTQ+ assist, via a wealth of content material that not solely celebrates all issues Delight, but additionally share tales, take time to mirror and raises consciousness for the group this Delight Month.

And we’ve acquired some nice names on board to assist us, too. From an inventory of well-known visitor editors taking up the positioning for every week that features , , ,,, and , we’ll even have the likes and Drag Race stars and providing their insights. 

Throughout Delight Month, which runs from 1 - 30 June, Metro.co.uk can even be supporting Kyiv Delight, a Ukrainian charity pressured to work more durable than ever to guard the rights of the LGBTQ+ group throughout instances of battle. To seek out out extra about their work, and what you are able to do to assist them, click on right here.

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