Celebrating London Pride and LGBT Dating in the UK

Gay Pride is a positive celebration of the gay community. It is also an active demonstration for equal rights and against the discrimination of lesbian, gay and transgender people. Pride month takes place worldwide every year during the month of June, chosen on this month to commemorate the historic 1969 Stonewall riots, where the gay community of New York fought for their rights to be open about their sexualities without fear of arrest or discrimination. The riots began as the occupants of the Stonewall Inn, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, refused to be arrested during a police raid. Even more, the residents of Greenwich Village continued to organise protests against police, spurring major activism across LGBT communities for gay rights.

Gay Pride events spread to other countries in the years that followed. These days, Pride is a global event, taking place in many cities across the world. Some of these cities, unfortunately, still deal with widespread discrimination and negative attitudes towards the LGBT community. This reason is why it’s important to still show your support as well as to have fun being yourself at Pride events. It helps to combat the prejudice that still exists and encourages other people to stand up for their rights.

London Pride

One of the biggest events in the world and the biggest in the UK is London Pride. The parade will occur on the 6th of July, 2019, and will travel throughout the city. It will feature more than 300 elaborately decorated floats plus a host of exciting performing artists such as Broadway performer Billy Porter, XFactor and Eurovision singer Saara Aalto and RuPaul’s drag race star William. As always, the London Pride Parade is free to attend making it the perfect day out, there are also events throughout the day which are paid for and also paid seats to watch the parade available for £50, so you can get a better view of the action above all the crowds.  Last year, around 1 million people attended the London Pride Parade.

The first official London Pride event took place two years after the first Pride weekend in New York, back in 1970. In its first year, it was a relatively small event with just 2,000 people in attendance, a far cry from last year’s London Pride parade which saw 1 million people lining the streets of London to celebrate. This year promises to be an even bigger event on a perfect summer’s day and what better way to celebrate LGBT pride and have fun than on a date?

Find a Date for London Pride

Finding a date is easier than ever today with a huge range of online dating sites tailored specifically for LGBT people. This means that you can find exactly the kind of person you’re looking for to attend this year’s London Pride. A few examples of dating sites that are LGBT friendly include:

Match.com

One of the first dating sites to become truly popular, Match has now been around for more than 20 years. It currently has one of the largest dating communities available on the Internet. Match.com has a simple to use profile creator where you are asked a series of questions about your interest, lifestyle, values, etc. The answers you give are then analysed to help find your perfect match and also displayed on your profile. Having such a large number of members means that you have a good chance of finding your ideal partner no matter your age or sexuality and the extensive questions featured on everyone’s profiles helps you to pick someone who shares your ideals and interests. See here for a full review of the site.

OurTime

This site is tailored towards those who are aged 50 and above. As they may find it harder to find dates on other dating sites this is a perfect solution for finding a partner in their own age group. OurTime is designed to be used by an older generation. With that in mind, it is very simple to set up your profile and browse the profiles of potential matches. The site also has a feature to text or call other users even when offline, meaning you can stay safe by keeping your phone number private. Here you can find a complete review of OurTime.

GaysTryst

GaysTryst is one of the top gay dating sites and specifically set up for gay men seeking other gay men. Additionally, this site is ideal for finding and meeting your perfect match. It’s quick to get started without any lengthy registration to keep you waiting. GaysTryst does take user safety very seriously and has a feature to give a “verified member” mark to those users who have proven their identity. This helps to eliminate any nuisance fake profiles. With an ever-growing number of members GaysTryst is a perfect way to find a date for London Pride. See a comprehensive review of GaysTryst on our site.

Elite Singles

More tailored towards serious dating and with a strong emphasis on professional and high-quality matches, Elite Singles is a great way to find a date and maybe even love for Gay Pride London. The website has a lengthy registration process to help fine-tune your matches. This involves a questionnaire that should help to ensure you only receive the best possible dates. The site also automatically matches you with 20 profiles per day based on your interests. This saves you from endlessly searching through hundreds of profiles. Elite Singles also goes to great lengths to remove any spam or fake accounts from their website. See here for a full review of Elite Singles

Online dating tips

With the multitude of sites to sign up to, online dating can seem like a complicated process. This is especially true if you are unfamiliar with how the sites work. Here are a few general tips to help you out.

1. Make sure your biography or questionnaire answers reflect you accurately.

It can feel a little strange to analyse yourself and present your values and interests on a website. If you really want to find quality matches, however, then your profile really needs to be true to yourself. If you’re unsure what to write about yourself, ask a friend to give you some ideas to help out.

2. Your profile picture should be clear and recent.

Again your profile needs to be honest so there’s no point in uploading a ten-year-old photo. If you’re really serious about finding a match, you may even choose to get some professionally shot photos to help your profile stand out.

3. Personalise your opening message.

Just sending “Hey” is boring and shows a lack of thought towards your match. Read their profile carefully and use it to tell them why you matched with them and what interests you about them.

4. Stay safe online.

Be wary of meeting people straight away. Make sure you choose a public location to meet up. Furthermore, to be extra cautious, you can also tell a family member or friend where you are going and what time you’ll be back. Be sure to block or report accounts which you think might be fake or are harassing you.

5. Be selective.

With the sheer number of people now signed up to online dating in the UK you can afford to be selective when looking for a date. Don’t feel like you have to go with someone just because they ask you. Take your time to find a match that you feel suits you best.

This year’s Gay Pride London is all set to be a huge event with a lot of fun, colour, performances and a diverse celebration of equality. Whether you decide to go to London Pride with a date or not, we hope that these tips can help you to enjoy your day safely and in the best way possible.