London has officially entered the race to host WorldPride 2032, an international LGBTQIA+ festival. If successful, London would be the first city ever to host the event for a second time, having previously hosted in 2012. The 2032 event would coincide with the 60th anniversary of the UK’s first official Pride march, which took place in London on July 1, 1972.
The bid is being led by Outernet London, UK Black Pride, and Pride in London, with support from TripAdvisor, The Independent, The Standard, and the Mayor of London. Dr Lady Phyll, executive director of DIVA Charitable Trust and co-founder of UK Black Pride, is serving as the bid’s co-chair.
Financial and Political Backing
Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has announced he is providing £100,000 to support the bid. In a piece written for The Standard, Khan stated that hundreds of thousands of uncelebrated LGBTQIA+ Londoners bring love and joy to our lives every day
and that they are the reason that WorldPride belongs in our city
.
Khan further linked the bid to a need for defiance against hate, mentioning a recent terrorist attack at Berlin Pride. He argued that the rights won by previous generations must be defended today, noting that during the first 1972 march, homosexuality still carried prison sentences in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Community-Led Visual Identity
The London WorldPride 2032 Bid Committee is utilizing two interconnected competitions to allow the LGBTQIA+ community to shape the campaign’s visual identity from the start. According to Rebecca Paisis, interim CEO of Pride in London, the goal is to give every generation an opportunity to leave their mark on what could become one of the defining moments in our movement’s history
.
The initiatives include:
- Logo Competition: UK-based creatives are invited to submit an original logo outline capturing London’s diversity and creativity. The winning designer will receive a £3,000 prize.
- Photography Project: Members of the global LGBTQIA+ community and allies are asked to submit photos celebrating belonging, identity, allyship, and Pride.
The winning logo and the submitted photographs will be combined to create a living symbol of Pride
—a large-scale digital mosaic.
The Global Significance of WorldPride
Licensed by InterPride, WorldPride is a major international celebration held every two to three years. It combines human rights programming, cultural festivals, and marches to promote global visibility and equal rights. Since its inaugural event in Rome in 2000, host cities have included Sydney, New York, Madrid, Amsterdam, Toronto, and Copenhagen. The 2026 event is currently taking place in Amsterdam, and Cape Town is scheduled to be the first African host city in 2028.
Dr Lady Phyll emphasized that the bid is an opportunity for London to lead with courage, purpose and global solidarity
during a time of increasing hostility toward LGBTQIA+ communities worldwide. She stated that WorldPride must focus on people, justice, belonging and creating lasting change
rather than just spectacle.
Historical Context of Pride in London
The 2032 bid looks back on a history of activism that began in 1972, three years after the Stonewall uprising. That first London march, described by organizer Ted Brown as a declaration of rights
, involved 2,000 marchers who faced hostility and hysteria in a country without legal protections against sexuality-based discrimination.
Organizers noted the evolution of the movement, citing the introduction of Section 28 in 1988, which caused isolation for LGBTQIA+ youth in British schools.
