Thousands of people attend London Pride as Mayor Sadiq Khan leads the colorful parade

Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in the capital for London’s annual Pride parade. The center of the capital is decorated with rainbows to celebrate the event.

Crowds of people lined the streets from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square to watch the floats pass by, with dancers, martial artists and party buses taking part.

An estimated 500 LGBTQ+ community groups and businesses took part in the parade, which drew more than 32,000 people, as stages and street acts filled the streets of Soho.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan left at noon on Saturday afternoon and led the parade with his wife Saadiya Khan. The mayor was accompanied by Conservative London Assembly member Andrew Boff and air quality campaigner Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah.

Among the many groups represented at the parade were Tesco workers, a brass band who treated the crowd to a popular brass version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic”, and Ishigaki JuJitsu, the UK’s largest LGBTQ+ martial arts club.

As the parade made its way through Piccadilly, spectators and participants danced and sang to loud pop music pumping out of a Heart Radio float.

Mr Khan said in a statement: “I am delighted that London’s diverse LGBTQI+ communities and allies are once again coming together in the heart of our capital for our world-famous Pride celebrations and solidarity march.

“Pride is one of the highlights of my year and it has been an honor to participate in every march since I was first elected mayor in 2016.

“This incredible event is a shining example of LGBTQI+ rights and shows why our city is a beacon for openness and inclusion – a place where you are embraced and celebrated for who you are. Our capital’s LGBTQI+ communities make a huge contribution to life in London.

“However, there is still work to be done to achieve true equality, and as a proud ally I will continue to support our capital’s LGBTQI+ communities as we build a better London for all.”

Among those in the march was the group Queers for Palestine, who walked down Piccadilly chanting the slogan “There is no pride in genocide.”

The group of 50 held posters accusing Israel of genocide and condemning “pinkwashing” – the accusation that Israel is taking a progressive position on gay rights to improve its international reputation.

Also present was a small group of Christian counter-protesters who gathered along the Pride parade and delivered religious sermons criticizing the march.