Trans+ Pride London began in 2019, created by a collective of transgender people and groups that decided to start an event to combat the rising transphobia in the UK, and the rest of the world. That first event saw an attendance of around 1500 people. This year, in the face of the biggest rollbacks on trans rights, and vicious attacks on the transgender community, that crowd rose to an amazing 100,000 people, as the trans community and its allies gathered to tell the rest of the country that they will not go unheard and unseen.
2025 has seen some of the worst attacks on the trans community that the country has seen in the last 30 years or more, with the current Labour government enacting legislation that would make the most vehement transphobic extremist happy. We have daily media reports that demonise trans people in all walks of life, with anti-trans voices given centre stage. Government bodies are pushing for the segregation of trans people from public spaces, or our complete removal from them. Trans youth have lost access to healthcare, and many health providers across the country are even refusing to provide services to trans adults. Anti-trans hate crimes and violence is on the rise. We are seeing a concerted attempt to erase trans people from British life. And over the weekend the UK saw the biggest pro-trans protest and celebration in the world in response to that hate.
The even route went through multiple landmark sites across the nation's capital, including Trafalga Square, Regent Street, and Piccadilly Circus, before finishing at Parliament Square, where a number of speakers gave speeches across the day. BBC presenter Dr Ronx, actress Yasmin Finney, artist Lewis G Burton, were just some of the people who spoke at the event.
Lewis G Burton, who is one of the event's organisers, said 'This year’s London Trans+ Pride made history once again, with over 100,000 trans+ people and allies marching through central London – smashing our own world record of 60,000 and continuing our legacy as the biggest trans+ pride event in history.
'It was an emotional and powerful day. At a time when the supreme court is making sweeping decisions about trans people without consulting a single trans person or organisation, and when a small, well-funded lobby of anti-trans campaigners continues to dominate headlines and waste public resources, our community came together to show what real strength, solidarity and care looks like.
'I feel honoured to have platformed some of the most inspiring activists, organisers and trans people from across the globe. London Trans+ Pride was a vital act of resistance and joy – a reminder to trans+ people that they are not alone, that they are celebrated, and that they belong.
'The message was clear: we will not be erased. Our existence is natural, historic and enduring. You can try to take away our rights, but you will never remove us from society. We are a part of humanity – and the public will not stand by while harm is done to our community.'
Speaking to Attitude magazine about the event author Caroline Litman, whose trans daughter Alice lost her life in 2022, said, 'I feel safe here. I feel at home in the trans community. A lot of my cis, heteronormative friends just don’t get me anymore. In my loss, I understand the feeling of being outside and otherness. That helps me identify more with the struggle.
'We want trans people to live full realised lives in their true selves – but we have to protest. This is about getting the cisgender-conforming majority to see what is happening, what they’re doing to this vulnerable minority.
Speaking on concerns parents might have about their children coming out as transgender she said, 'Listen to your child and trust them and believe them and put them at the centre. You may have concerns and anxieties, I had them too. But your child knows themselves better than you do and you are being lied to by the government and the mass media who don’t have your child or your best interests at heart. So please: love them, support them, listen to them and get some help.'
A major theme of this years protest was 'Existence and Resistance. Those in attendance described the event as having an atmosphere that was a mixture of hope, joy, and community, as well as feelings of rage and anger towards those who have made eradicating trans people their lives. As well as calls against the actions being taken against the trans community there were people across the protest waving Palestinian flags, as well as signs and chants with anti-genocide messages.
Trans+ Solidarity Alliance member Alex Parmar-Yee said, 'It’s important to turn up en masse to make sure that it’s very clear what the feelings are in terms of the rights which we’re fighting for, but also in protest of some of the harmful proposals that are currently being considered.'
She went on to speak about the recent UK Supreme Court Ruling on the definition of sex under the Equality Act 2010, which has been used as a springboard to push for further attacks on trans rights and protections, saying 'This guidance has not provided any additional clarity, and actually is going to devastate the lives of trans people (who) will lose access to essential services and spaces.
'The main concern really here is that it feels like there’s not been a consideration of trans members of the community, and that this guidance will pass behind closed doors, without the scrutiny, and without visibility, and without democracy. You look at the bathroom ban that’s being proposed, and you sort of realise that, although we may consider the UK quite different from a country like America, it’s a bathroom ban that would make someone like Donald Trump proud. There is a lack of transparency and I think we cannot be a nation that accepts a bathroom ban becoming law behind closed doors.'
2025 has been one of the most violent and terrifying years in a long while for trans people in the UK, and the current attacks on our community are not going away anytime soon, even when so openly pushed back against as with this march. The current government are pushing through even more anti-trans policies, including education reforms that mirror the much demonised Section 28 of Thatcher's Britain. But giving up against such open hate isn't the answer, and it's only be continuing to be loud, proud, and defiant against a regime that wants us erased will we ever find the equality and respect that we deserve.
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