Your new Pride organisation is here and ready to reinvigorate the UK’s largest gay event.
Michael Salter, Chair of London LGBT+ Community Pride, gives Cliff Joannou the exclusive first interview of how the group intends to deliver the city a Pride it can be proud of…
Tell us about the new Pride organization. Who is involved?
The new organization has a great mix of people from London’s LGBT+ community who have got off their backsides and decided things can be better! We have varied backgrounds and experience but share a vision and goal – to restore Pride in London. Ours is a truly global city and Pride here should be a ‘go-to’ event attracting people from across the city, country and world. We are passionate that Pride should be for the community, by the community and give back to the community – so we set ourselves up as a Community Interest Company, this means that none of the Directors are paid and any surplus can only be used to either fund the event in future years or given to LGBT+ groups.
How did the group come into formation?
The last minute scaling back of World Pride in 2012 left many in the LGBT+ community frustrated and angry, for example community groups had spent money on floats they couldn’t use. In the aftermath people started talking about restoring Pride. The TUC hosted meetings to try to establish new principles for the event, and Jeremy Joseph threw open the doors of Heaven so the community could get together and discuss what had gone wrong and what should be done. Two groups formed, one with better business links and the other with a stronger community focus, they joined-up to form a strong and complementary team.
The GLA awarded the London LGBT+ Community Pride the grant to stage Pride for the next five years. What did the tender process involve and what does it mean for gay London in the broader scope?
The Mayor’s Office was also frustrated that World Pride didn’t work out; they started a tender process to run Pride for the next five years. Some people question why City Hall decides which group runs Pride, the answer is simple: they provide the most money and Trafalgar Square; they also have a duty to protect the taxpayer’s contribution. A tough tender process was put in place; three groups got through to the final stage and we were chosen in December. The Mayor’s office will provide £500,000 over the next five years but that’s only 20% of what it costs so we need everyone to play their part: we need companies to sponsor the event or buy a stall, people to contribute even a few pounds to the running costs, the LGBT businesses in London to step forward and participate!
“Pride should be for the community, by the community and give back to the community.”
From your investigations, what were the major mistakes of the previous Pride organization? How will this group address those?
We’ve looked carefully at what happened last year and have learned some important lessons. But we don’t want to look back, there isn’t time! We have five months to fundraise, organize and then put on Pride! We need everyone in the LGBT+ community who values Pride to get involved and give a little – make it your New Year’s resolution – you can’t just leave it to others or we all risk losing it.
What kind of consultation with community has happened to make sure this new Pride organization reflects the wishes of LGBT Londonders?
We attended every TUC meeting and the event organized at Heaven. We met with dozens of LGBT+ groups to understand what went wrong and what they wanted from Pride. During the tender process we hosted a meeting for 50 community groups so we could understand their needs. It was important to us that we weren’t just talking to the bigger LGBT+ groups, so we reached out to small charities and groups involved with health, sports, disability, religion, black and ethnic minorities. London is a brilliantly diverse city and the LGBT+ community is the same, so we wanted to make sure we were properly engaging. A successful Pride should give money to LGBT+ groups, like Manchester and Brighton Pride do, in particular to help smaller organisations; our Community Advisory Board, chaired by Lisa Power, will advise us on this and provide community oversight. We are committed to publishing information and will hold regular public meetings, the first is on the 19th February.
What are the plans for this year’s Pride event?
It’s been tough trying to find the right date to hold Pride in 2013 and we won’t keep everyone happy. Saturday 29th June will be the Parade, Trafalgar Square and Soho events, with a festival of activity in the week before. The events will be fresh and different; combine traditional campaigning with the partying and fun our city is known for.
How can people volunteer or offer their services to the new Pride?
If you want Pride to be a success in future years, this is the time to get involved. Don’t be shy. We need over 600 people to make it safe, fun and spectacular. You might be a performer who wants to participate on the Parade; a photographer or artist that wants to organize an exhibition; a cameraman ready to film the community groups or a creative designer that wants to assist with how the event looks and feels. You might want to be a steward, organize your company’s LGBT+ group to take part in the Parade, give money to ensure it’s a success or help with social media. There are hundreds of ways we can use your skills, money or time!
• If you are interested in being part of Pride and helping it grow, please contact London LGBT+ Community Pride via londoncommunitypride.org and they’ll let you know how you can help make Pride a great success.
• The first community meeting is on the Tuesday 19th February, register to attend at londoncommunitypride.org
