03 Jul 05

The march was the culmination of two weeks of pride events.

For the first time there were 46 motorised floats, linked by a range of musical, dancing and walking groups, including stars such as Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry, Chris Smith and 240 uniformed gay police and staff.

Bob Geldof addressed the marchers at the beginning if the Pride Parade and called on them to think of Africa.

"Between what you people are doing and the people in the park are doing and the people around the world, we are going to stop one vast oppression of a vast minority - that's what we are going to do today," Geldof said.

The rocker also joked that he would take "a chance to go mincing about in London" before the Live 8 event started.

Marchers made their way along Park Lane, through Westminster, past the Houses of Parliament and along Victoria Embankment for a rally in Trafalgar Square and a cabaret tent in Leicester Square that saw the final of Drag Idol won by The Flourettes from Cambridge, who had won the Two Brewers heats.

Tributes were also given to gay barman David Morley, who was beaten to death on the South Bank in October 2004.

Stephen Fry said Pride was “a celebration, but also a memorial, because, if you’re of my generation, so many people you know have died of AIDS.”

Lord Waheed Ali said that “eight years ago we were fighting about an equal age of consent, so look how far we’ve come. It’s not just about changing the law, it’s about winning hearts and minds. And they’ve even closed the centre of London for us,"

Elton John used Pride day to urge the Blair government to take a stand against worldwide homophobia.

Photo by Frank Wallace at www.gaywebguys.com"I want our government, which has presided over many positive changes for gay people here in the UK - an equal age of consent, partnership rights, the abolition of the rightly reviled Clause 28 - to ensure that ending violations of gay people's fundamental human rights around the world becomes an explicit issue in its diplomatic relations with other countries," John wrote in an op-ed piece for The Observer.

Peter Tatchell said that Pride 2005 “was a big change firm the 700 who were on the first march in 1972” but told the Independent that he was critical of the decision to stage Live 8 on the same day.

“It’s a pity that the Live 8 organisers couldn’t have done it on another weekend. We do support their campaign, but we also want to make homophobia history.”




















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BGMAG at www.bgmag.org.uk
Frank Wallace at www.gaywebguys.com
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ukstudentlife.com