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World Gay Pride Set for London as Prelude to Olympics

London wins World Pride in 2012
 

LONDON, October 31, 2008  –  London has won the right to host World Pride in 2012, it was revealed last night.  The decision was made at the InterPride conference in Vancouver last weekend.

World Pride will be held in the British capital during the summer of 2012, just ahead of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Led by Pride London, with support from Visit London and the Mayor of London, London beat tough competition to be awarded the World Pride parade in 2012.

Organised by InterPride, World Pride promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues on an international level through parades, festivals and other cultural activities.

London’s World Pride in 2012 is expected to attract over one million visitors.  The two week festivities will most likely take place from 23 June to 8 July 2012, with the main parade held on 7 July.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that London has won the right to host World Pride in 2012,” said Mayor on London Boris Johnson.

“London has one of the largest and most diverse LGBT communities on the planet and it is a fantastic opportunity to inspire cities across the globe.

“In an Olympic year, the eyes of the world will already be on London and the city will give an enormous welcome to LGBT people, their friends and families, for what we want to be the most colourful and exciting World Pride festival yet.”

Visit London Deputy Chief Executive, Sally Chatterjee described the awarding of World Pride to London as a tremendous win for the capital.

“London Pride is an annual highlight of the cultural festival calendar and hosting World Pride in 2012 is a proud triumph for our city,” she said.

“There really will be no other place on earth to be in 2012 than right here in London.”

Chair of Pride London, Paul Birrell said that the annual Gay Pride in London has grown over the years to be on of the UK’s largest cultural events.

“This is a tremendous achievement for the LGBT community,” he added.

Since its founding in 1982, with the first World Pride in Boston, USA, Wold Pride has been staged in the UK once before – in Glasgow, Scotland in 1999.  The only other European cities to stage the event were the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, in 2004, and Zurich, Switzerland, last year.

The video produced to support the successful 2012 London World Pride bid
 

Seed Newsvine  

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