London Mayor Sadiq Khan told revelers
at Saturday's LGBT Pride Parade that the festivities are the best
antidote to the city's recent bout with tragedy.
The 46-year-old Khan also called this
year's event the biggest ever.
“We've had a horrible last few weeks.
We've had terror, we've had tragedy. You know what the best
antidote to sorrow, the best antidote to sadness, to bereavement, to
hatred, is Pride in London,” Khan said, referring to recent
terrorist attacks and a fire in a public housing high-rise tower.
Khan also told the crowd that there
“will be no backtracking on LGBT+ rights” as the government
builds a coalition with the DUP, a conservative party opposed to
marriage equality.
In a video message, Prime Minister
Theresa May told the crowd that the UK “will continue to stand up
for human rights, directly challenging at the highest political
levels governments that criminalize homosexuality or practice
violence and discrimination against LGBT+ people.”
“And here at home too,” she added.
“We must stamp out homophobic bullying in schools, and drive down
homophobic and transphobic hate crime.”
According to the AP, more than 25,000
people participated in Saturday's parade, with up to 1 million people
watching.
Londoners are also celebrating fifty
years since passage of the Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalized
sex between people of the same gender in England and Wales.