100,000+ trans+ people and their allies showed up to call for justice and dignity for trans people
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE BY LEVI OCEAN
At 1pm on Saturday 26 July, Langham Place (and beyond) was flooded with Trans Pride flags and placards with powerful messages calling for trans rights and liberation. They had all come to march for this year’s London Trans+ Pride. The annual event was founded in 2019 and has never been more needed than it was this year. This year’s theme was “Existence and Resistance” – and it’s truly fitting following the April UK Supreme Court Ruling and other attacks on trans rights which have seen trans existence in this country become harder than ever in recent history.
History was made over the weekend when over 100,000 trans+ people and their allies showed up to march for trans rights. London Trans+ Pride (LT+P) had already broken the world record last year with its 60,000 attendees; this year’s turnout has certainly outdone LT+P’s already impressive track record. It’s cemented itself as the largest trans pride event in history.
This year’s event had powerful celebrity support from Jeremy Corbyn, Jessie Ware, Munroe Bergdorf, Jameela Jamil, Clara Amfo, Eddie Suzy Izzard, Jake Shears, Will Young, Harris Dickinson, Honey Dijon and more.
Attendees also saw speeches from Heartstopper’s Yasmin Finney, Hollyoak’s Ki Griffin, UK action network Trans Kids Deserve Better and campaigner Caroline Litman, whose trans daughter, Alice, died from suicide in 2022 after waiting almost three years for gender-affirming healthcare.
Model, writer and activist Munroe Bergdorf, who is one of the UK’s leading trans voices, also marched along the crowd and emphasised: “With British trans people facing so much uncertainty… It’s essential that as many of us as possible take to the streets in protest, to show our pride and that we will not be erased, shamed, segregated or forced back into the margins.”
The march called for urgent action, including a total ban on conversion therapy, fully funded gender-affirming care, shorter waiting times for trans patients and legal recognition for non-binary people. The LT+P organisers also emphasised that trans+ liberation is intrinsically connected to racial justice, disability justice and economic justice. So it’s no surprise that the placards and flags displayed by attendees were gloriously intersectional and called for liberation for all marginalised and oppressed people.
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