As regular readers will be aware from my earlier post, Bishopsgate’s inaugural ‘Pride on the Plaza’ took place on Wednesday 1st July and was a joy-filled demonstration of inclusivity.
So many people have raised with me recently that visibility matters to the LGBTQ+ community, where geopolitical tensions and the continued roll-back of equality rights in many countries across the world have had an impact here, in our global city where 49% of our workers were not born in the UK. We sadly still live in a world where a third of all countries criminalise same-sex relationships. 12 countries have the death penalty for being gay. But what does that actually mean in practice for the LGBTQ+ community here? Well, ask yourself when was the last time you had to think about where you can go on holiday or which promotion at work you can accept because of the location? How often do you have to work out the intentions of an audience you are talking to before you can be open about your true self.
I have also heard the counter-argument, that gay people have rights in the UK now – isn’t it time to give it a rest? To them, I would say that 30% of gay people have experienced unprovoked physical abuse with 92% regularly receiving verbal abuse from strangers. 1 in 5 gay people have experienced homelessness, 46% of gay people still don’t feel able to be open about their orientation with family and 35% don’t feel able to be open about themselves at work. But the stats that really get me are that 1 in 5 gay people aged 16-24 have attempted suicide, older lesbians are 3 times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual women and suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 50 in the UK.
There are also solid economic benefits in promoting diversity and equality. We know that our city thrives and employees perform at the highest professional standards when they feel safe and secure, and there are studies that show companies with strong LGBTQ+ inclusion policies see up to 30% lower turnover in staff, that cities with higher LGBTQ+ inclusion scores also score higher on global talent competitiveness indexes and that London’s growth sectors (AI, life sciences, robotics) all rely on globally mobile talent, with inclusion being in the top 3 factors in relocation decisions. 250,000 LGBTQ+ owned business now contribute £106bn annually to the UK economy, employing 750,000 people. The “pink pound” is no joke!
So what is Pride on the Plaza?
Over the past 10 years, the City of London Corporation has slowly been ramping up its engagement and participation in Pride events, as a convener and promoter. Last year, the Manager of the Pan Pacific Hotel (John Kelly) had the idea to try and grow the celebrations in 2026. Christmas on the Plaza has become a real partnership event in our community each year and he wondered whether something similar could be developed for a Pride event, bringing together the whole community. As the manager of one of our city’s most successful hotels, John is used to making the seemingly impossible happen, and he swiftly engaged a range of partners to build a steering group to plan and deliver the event, with support from the Eastern City Business Improvement District (EC BID), alongside a number of other sponsors.
The aim of the event was a mixed demonstration for what is still needed, a celebration of progress to date, an opportunity to raise funds for charities and to bring the community together and have some fun.
As I have spoken about before, the City of London Corporation’s Pride in the Square Mile aims to draw together Pride networks which have previously been company or industry specific, uniting them under a City-wide brand, which strengthens networking and collaboration.
My day begun with Bishopsgate Councillor Shravan Joshi at the invitation of Ayesha Patel, President of RBC Europe and COO of RBC Capital Markets Europe at their 100 Bishopsgate offices for a discussion about the role inclusion, equity and diversity plays at RBC. This really helpful overview was followed by a Q&A session between Tris Reid-Smith (CEO and co-founder of Pride Wide) and Alderman Tim Hailes, who will be – subject to election – the first openly gay, Lord Mayor of the City of London in November 2026.
Despite knowing Tim personally for 10 years, it was a really educational discussion about both his career journey, including the challenges and opportunities being a member of the LGBTQ+ community has presented, as well as an overview of his preparation for his new role as ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services sector. Tim also spoke about the power of talent and the opportunities for the City of London as an undeniable hub where diverse talent can succeed if it is supported to do so.
Next was a visit to Salesforce’s Ohana floor at 110 Bishopsgate to have a look around the brilliant Pride pop-ups, including fundraising arts and crafts, games and quizzes. The Salesforce team had done a brilliant job in decorating the building and with their branded merchandising.
We then enjoyed a discussion titled ‘The Stories We Carry: Lived Experiences in The City’, which was a thought-provoking panel exploring the personal experiences, challenges, moments of joy and lessons that shape LGBTQ+ lives in the City. This session was moderated by Scott Nunn co-founder of Pride Wide and participants included Payal Anand from Barclays, Claire O’Neil from Salesforce and Arlene McDermott from the London Stock Exchange Group.
It was really interesting to explore ways in which people of entirely different backgrounds have chosen to get involved and often to grow employee support networks in different ways. Some of the themes I picked up on were the number of people who contact visible LGBTQ+ members of the community to talk about their struggles and often don’t know where to turn. We talked about the collective respect for individuals who chose not to make their sexual orientation something they wish to disclose at work. And we explored how to navigate relationships with those of different faiths and beliefs respectfully, including line managers who can be responsible for your career progression. Some discussion also followed about the struggles LGBTQ+ charities and CICs are having in fundraising, as so much corporate sponsorship has been withdrawn.
Next I joined Bishopsgate Councillor Simon Burrows to meet our brilliant City of London Local Policing team, who were providing advice and visible reassurance at the Pride on the Plaza immersive outdoor festival, led by Inspector Rachel Bullimore. The team had brought with them the City Safe Bus, which is such a useful and visible tool in our community.
Whilst crimes against the LGBTQ+ community in the City of London are extremely rare, it is really important to continue to foster an open dialogue for what has been an untrustworthy and strained relationship historically with police across the UK. As a Board Member of the City Police, I personally feel this is especially important in a force which has quite low levels of diversity in serving Officers.
Next I visited the team at St. Botolph-Without-Bishopsgate, who had decided to raise the progress pride flag for the first time in the church’s 298 year history!
Congratulations to Fr. David and the Churchwardens who scaled the roof to show their visual solidarity with the cause of inclusivity and as a welcoming place of worship to all who seek it out.
Then it was onto the Plaza itself for the staged performances from the London Gay Men’s Chorus, the Equality Choir, amongst other curated acts. I’ve included a few video clips below for those interested, but by this stage, we were having far too much fun to document everything!
The Plaza was surrounded by pop-up bars and charity stands for people to engage with, and there was a raffle with some phenomenal prizes raising funds for very worth causes like Stonewall Housing.
Finally, the Andaz Hotel played host to the after party, which continued until the wee hours with unscheduled performances from the London Gay Men’s Chorus between sets led by the brilliant DJ, Michelle Lynn.
I believe this entirely privately funded community event was a resounding success and from the messages I have received over the past few days, will leave a lasting impression. Already there is talk of planning next year’s event!
In addition to my thanks to John Kelly of the Pan Pacific London, I’d like to also thank Jad Lian from Andaz Hotel, Matt Mundy at RBC, Marc Anthony Caporiccio from Interbank and Mark Gettleson from the City of London Corporation for bringing this event to life. A fantastic team effort – well done!
A few more photos and videos below…
