Dancing in the streets

Every Summer, London hosts its own version of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, called Pride, which culminates in a daylight parade through central London. Two years ago I watched the parade in the shadow of Big Ben as it wound its way along the Thames embankment. At the time I thought it compared poorly with Sydney's highly choreographed and carefully orchestrated event.

However, this year's celebration was more spectacular than usual as London had been chosen to host the annual Europride Festival, Europe's largest gay and lesbian event. For the last two weeks, hundreds of activities have been taking place city-wide in a festival line-up reminiscent of Mardi Gras at its peak. The parade route also changed this year, passing through the heart of London - down Regent Street, Oxford Street, and Trafalgar Square.

The parade then concluded with a series of street parties at Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, and across Soho, continuing late into the evening. Most of Soho was also closed to road traffic on Saturday, encouraging unusually large crowds to gather. Garry and I joined a group of friends shortly after lunch and spent a sunny, fun-filled day wandering the streets, hopping from bar to bar.

Much of our afternoon was spent at The Crown & Two Chairman on the corner of Dean and Bateman Street. The pub had dragged several large wooden tables into the street, making for an ideal people-watching location. As the shadows lengthened we stopped by the "Girls Zone", an energetic lesbian-friendly dance party in a shaded cul-de-sac, before moving on to some of our favourite Soho bars. By closing time we'd met visitors from all corners of the UK and Europe.

The hours simply flew by and before we knew it, the last remnants of our group were gathered in Heaven, London's largest gay club. At 5:00am Garry and I finally decided we'd reached our limit. We flagged a cab and made our way home to a much-welcomed bed.

Much of Sunday was spent sleeping as we were keen to recharge our batteries for the Europride Concert later that evening. This was a gala variety event held at the stunning Albert Hall. Garry and I had successfully secured seats earlier in the week, close to the stage, sitting at eye level with the performers. The event was a four-hour cavalcade of the UK's most famous gay and lesbian stars (and their straight friends) from all walks of life.

The line-up included Elton John, Boy George, Stephen Fry, Tina C, Graham Norton, Ian McKellen, Julian Clary, Alan Carr (of Little Britain fame), Heather Small (lead singer from M-People), and walk-on cameos from Jennifer Saunders, Ruby Wax, and Billy-Jean King. The chorus company from at least three West End shows also performed including Avenue Q, Chicago, and Mamma Mia.

Ian McKellen was particularly memorable, reviving a spectacular number from last Christmas's Aladdin pantomime, as the lonely Widow Twankey. Garry and I laughed just as hard last night as we did at Christmas time. It's hard to imagine that this was the same man who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Magneto in the X-Men films, and Sir Leigh Teabag in The Da Vinci Code.

Rather than ramble on, I'll point you toward this review in today's Evening Standard. All in all, it was an incredible evening in a truly memorable venue.