Where To Celebrate Pride This Weekend
The Blue Posts
The Blue Posts will be celebrating this year’s Pride with a block party on Saturday. DJs Aaron and Wayne, the duo behind famed 90s and 00s club night Rhythm of the Night, will be onsite playing a mixture of the best house, dance and remixes from 2pm-12am, with drag queens also on hand hosting and mingling with guests. A range of drinks will be on offer, including Aperol Spritzes – where a percentage of the proceeds from each cocktail will be donated to LGBTQ+ mental health charity, London Friend. Upstairs, intimate cocktail lounge The Mulwray will be transformed into a rouge backlit boudoir to match the bar’s vintage aesthetic. Open from 6pm-12am, the bar will have three specially created cocktails on offer, each inspired by some of history’s greatest drag moments.
28 Rupert Street, Soho, W1D 6DJ; 6th July
Visit TheBluePosts.co.uk
The LaLiT London
On Friday, guests are invited to take a seat in pan-Indian restaurant Baluchi to enjoy an evening of entertainment alongside either a four-course dinner or a selection of canapés, plus 90-minutes of free-flowing prosecco, wine or beer. Star-studded acts include trans icon Amanda Lepore and the wildly distorted and avant-garde Hungry. After the show, guests can party the night away to the tunes of sensational queer queen DJ Tete Bang. After marching on Saturday, guests are invited to return to The LaLiT London for the ultimate hangover cure – a hearty brunch and hair of the dog. Queen Virgin Xtravaganzah will be on hand throughout to make sure spirits are high.
181 Tooley Street, London Bridge, SE1 2JR; 5th and 7th July
Visit TheBaluchi.com
Bao Soho
Taiwanese cult-favourite Bao London has a created a special-edition twin rainbow bao with banana and dark chocolate ice-cream filling. The twin-shape bao has been created to celebrate Taiwan legalising same-sex marriage (a historic first for Asia) earlier this year. Available at Bao Soho on 6th July during this year’s Pride march, customers will be able to stop and enjoy this tasty treat with the knowledge that all proceeds will be donated to the Albert Kennedy Trust, the national LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity. The picture-perfect Pride bao is priced at £7.50.
53 Lexington Street, Soho, W1F 9AS; 6th July
Visit BaoLondon.com
Barry’s Bootcamp
Barry’s Bootcamp is celebrating Pride with the launch of a limited-edition retail collection and class takeover raising funds for the official Pride charity. On Friday, Barry’s will be holding special Pride-themed classes across each of its five London studios. Guests booked into the 7:50pm class at Barry’s Central, East, West, Canary Wharf or SW1 will experience a special tag team class taught by two Barry’s trainers. The ‘red room’ will be transformed into the ‘rainbow room’ with colourful decorations, and 100% of proceeds from each class will go to Pride London. Additionally, Barry’s is launching an exclusive Pride retail collection of vests, t-shirts and sweatshirts to show its commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, with £2 from each sale donated to the official Pride London charity.
Various locations across London; 5th July
Visit BarrysBootcamp.com
Boom Cycle
On Saturday, Boom Cycle is joining in the good vibes across London with a Pride-themed ride at 9am at its Hammersmith studio. In addition, the team has created a limited-edition 'Love Wins' pride top and £10 of each sale will go to Pride London. Priding themselves as a safe place for riders to express themselves in any way they wish to, each studio will also be running a marketing initiative to encourage riders to write down why they 'Ride with Pride' on a place card, which will then be displayed on the wall of each studio to create a collage.
10 Hammersmith Grove, Hammersmith, W6 7AP; 6th July
Visit BoomCycle.co.uk
Galvin at Windows
Michelin-starred Galvin at Windows will deliver a splash of technicolour to its menu all this week. Created by head chef Joo Won, the two limited-edition dishes will be available for lunch and dinner. Integrated into the monthly-changing ‘Menu Prestige’, guests can start the experience with an extra-special starter of cured salmon, caviar, horseradish cream, crunch rainbow vegetables and flowers. A special dessert is comprised of a chocolate and hazelnut lolly bar, beurre noisette crumbles, dulche ganache and vanilla cream.
22 Park Lane, Mayfair, W1K 1BE; until 7th July
Visit GalvinAtWindows.com
Gymbox
This year Gymbox is lending its party prowess to make 2019’s celebrations the sweatiest yet. Pridebox is a pop-up week of fully-inclusive classes, with 100% of ticket sales going to Switchboard, the LGBTQ+ helpline. Gymbox is inviting members and non-members to connect, work out and get parade-ready. We like the sound of Thursday’s ‘PrideCurious LGBTQ+ Mindfulness’ class, where former monk and ‘mindfulness master’ Nick Kientsch presents a quiet hour of meditation ahead of the busy weekend, taking a moment to re-energise and reconnect with what makes you feel proud.
42-49 St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden, WC2N 4EJ; until 6th July
Visit Eventbrite.co.uk
John Lewis
John Lewis & Partners’ Roof Fest will be celebrating Pride with a programme of festival activities and live entertainment across Saturday and Sunday. Taking to the roof garden for one day only, Britain’s Got Talent’s Sheila Simmonds will be hosting a #BusyLady takeover complete with comedy songs and Pride favourites, sofa sessions, fun bingo and more. A special pre-show DJ set by Jonjo Jury will warm up the crowd while Bobbi Brown will be on hand offering complimentary festival-inspired makeovers spanning the colours of the rainbow to ensure guests are looking their best.
300 Oxford Street, Oxford Circus, W1C 1DX; 6th-7th July
Visit JohnLewis.com
Sea Containers
Sea Containers London will be illuminated to represent the Pride flag from Friday, plus the hotel will be hosting two events across the weekend. On Friday, award-winning film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert will be shown in the hotel’s 56-seater Curzon at Sea Containers cinema. Tickets are priced at £14.50 with all proceeds from the ticket sales donated to Stonewall. Then before heading to watch the parade on Saturday, guests can pop into the hotel’s new gallery space where vibrant south-east London hair studio Tuttii Fruitii will be offering Pride makeovers, with all proceeds donated to Stonewall.
20 Upper Ground, South Bank, SE1 9PD; 4th-6th July
Visit Eventbrite.co.uk
Troxy
Sink the Pink will be hosting an extravagant end to Pride this year, bringing its ‘Icons Ball’ to Troxy on Saturday, where Melanie C and Sink The Pink’s drag Spice Girls will be the stars of the show. The beautiful art-deco surrounding of Troxy will be transformed into a vibrant, bedazzled hub, hosting the official after party for the biggest queer celebration of the year. We reckon it’ll be even better than the real Spice Girls’ recent reunion tour.
490 Commercial Road, Limehouse, E1 0HX; 6th July
Visit Troxy.co.uk
VIVI
To celebrate Soho’s favourite carnival, VIVI will be throwing the ultimate rainbow brunch party this Saturday. Kicking off at 11:30am, guests can enjoy three courses of colourful brunch dishes and bottomless bubbles, Bloody Marys or Aperol Spritzes alongside live music from some of London’s hottest DJs, who’ll be playing the best of Cher, Lady Gaga and much more. Tickets cost £35 for the three-course brunch, and guests can go bottomless for £17.50 extra. The restaurant will donate £1 from each ticket to LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity AKT.
Centre Point, 11 St Giles Square, Tottenham Court Road, WC2H 8AP; 6th July
Visit DesignMyNight.com
Turning Tides
On Friday, renowned drag queens Sink the Pink will be performing an elaborate performance to mark the start of Turning Tides Festival. In addition to this, LA-based conceptual artist Geronimo will reveal I Can Taste You On A Rainy Day; a bold, large-scale installation of 25 inflated water droplets which will inhabit The Tide throughout the festival. Ranging from one to seven metres tall, these vibrant, painterly droplets will become the set to the flamboyant performance by Sink the Pink. With the backdrop of the Thames, visitors can expect an outrageously exciting production as vigorous queens, club kids and dancers take to the stage to warm up for Pride festivities across the capital this weekend.
Various locations across Greenwich Peninsular; 5th July
Visit TurningTides.London
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