Pride parade has become 'overly corporate', says one of UK's leading LGBTQ+ rights activists

news.sky.com:

Marching in the first Pride The UK's first Pride in 1972 vastly differs from the annual events which take place now.Mr Tatchell said organisers came up with the idea of "gay pride" to “counter the view that gay people should be "ashamed of their homosexuality"."We wanted to challenge that internalised homophobia.

At the time, there were huge issues around anxiety, depression and self-hate among the LGBT+ community," he added.Around 700 people attended the first march, donning colourful clothes, defiant and holding placards reading 'gay is good'.Protesters chanted slogans like "2,4,6,8 gay is just as good as straight", before they gathered at Hyde Park for a DIY "queer picnic" featuring games like spin the bottle.Mr Tatchell described the atmosphere as "youthful" and "carnival-like".He added that while organisers were "pleasantly surprised" by the turnout on the day, there was a sense of underlying fear over the reaction from both authorities and the public.While hundreds showed up to the event, Mr Tatchell noted the silence from both politicians and the media.Protesters were afraid of being arrested by the police or being targeted by far-right extremist groups which carried out attacks on LGBTQ+ people.Mr Tatchell said the police presence at Pride now is "clearly" much more friendly than in 1972, he believes that uniformed police should not be allowed to march in Saturday's parade..