Civil Service at Pride in London

Places in the Civil Service group

Confirmed places

If we have confirmed your place, you will have been sent a calendar invite to your work email address.

Last minute places

If you have not been sent a calendar invite, you can still take part in the parade. We will not allocate last minute places in advance; simply turn up at the meeting point at 10:45AM. Spare wrist bands will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Joining instructions

This guidance is for civil servants who are joining the cross-government Pride in London parade group on 1 July 2023.

Meeting points, arrival times, and parade times

Initial meeting point

Our initial meeting point will be Grosvenor Square, on the south side, opposite The Biltmore.

You should aim to arrive at 10:30AM. Wristbands, t-shirts, banners and placards will be distributed at the meeting point.

We will leave the meeting point and move into the parade form-up area near Hyde Park at around 11:00AM.

Lining up in the parade

Our group needs to arrive at the Parade form up area at 11:20AM.

We expect our parade group to start in the parade between 11:30AM and 12:00 noon. The parade route takes around 60 to 90 minutes to complete.

Please note we can join from the North and East of the park only due to road closures. We suggest travelling to either Marble Arch or Bond Street and walking down towards Grosvenor Square.

There will be no late admittance to the parade group, if you are running late on the day please let one of the organisers know.

Wristbands

All members of our parade group are required to wear a wristband, provided by Pride in London. You will need a wristband to access the parade waiting area, and may be refused entry if you are not wearing one.

We will only be handing out wristbands on the day. You can collect your wristband at our initial meeting point at Grosvenor Square.

Wristbands will be given to those who registered in advance first.

Any wristbands that are uncollected by 10:45AM will be handed out to others so that all those that want to participate can do so. If you were unsuccessful in securing a place online and want one of our spare wristbands to join the group, please arrive at 10:45AM at the meeting point.

If you can no longer attend

If you can no longer attend please let us know as soon as possible by emailing pride@civilservice.lgbt so that it can be offered to someone else. We have people on our waiting list – please don’t let them miss out!

The Parade

The route

The route is the same as last year; it will run from the top of Hyde Park near Marble Arch down to Whitehall.

During the parade

Remember, you are representing the Civil Service and government at this event, so you:

• must adhere to the Civil Service Code at all times
• must not promote any political messaging during the parade, or do anything that might be perceived as jeopardising your impartiality
• must not drink alcohol on the parade route or bring glass bottles to the parade form up area or parade route

Additionally, Pride in London have asked that:

• you do not hand out stickers during the Parade
• you do not use confetti cannons, coloured smoke or throw things into the crowd
• you do not bring pets (except guide dogs) on the Parade route

Dress code and t-shirts

You should wear suitable clothing for the event, but there is no set dress code. Remember that you are representing the government at the event — so please don’t wear anything that might cause embarrassment to you, the group or the Civil Service.

T-shirt collection

T-shirts are being provided with Civil Service Pride branding to all attendees. These t-shirts are free of charge.

You can re-use the same t-shirt as last year.

Your t-shirt will be brought to the initial meeting point; you cannot collect the t-shirt in advance.

Weather

It is likely to be warm and sunny on the day. Please bring water in plastic bottles and ensure that you are wearing suncream.

After the parade: social

We are aiming to hold a post-parade social at the Civil Service Club in Westminster. This will be confirmed to group members on the day. We are operating a guest list to access the social: if you are not on the guest list, or if you are not already a member of the Civil Service Club, you will not be able to enter the venue.

If you attend the parade as part of our parade group, you are already on the list.

Please note that the venue is limited in size, and so you may be refused entry if the venue is full. If the venue is full, we’ll overflow into St James’s Park.

Questions?

If you have questions or comments, please contact us.