Shaftesbury has announced that the Pride in London pop-up has opened their doors on Fouberts Place marking the 50 year anniversary of Pride.

The pop-up offers a safe space for London’s LGBT+ community, and is located at 15-17 Fouberts Place, London, W1F 7QB – just off Carnaby Street – open through 3 July, 2022.

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Brian Bickell, CEO at Shaftesbury says “We are delighted to welcome the Pride in London pop-up to Carnaby to mark their 50th anniversary. With the LGBT+ community being so present in the area it is important to us at Shaftesbury to mark the anniversary and to show our support for the community and beyond. Soho has embraced the LBGT+ community for generations so it’s fitting for us to mark this important Pride anniversary.

The Pride in London store features comfy daytime lounge areas in partnership with partners IKEA and Coca Cola, and sells an assortment of gender-inclusive Pride merchandise, is home to an interactive social media wall, and will serve as a meeting hub for the community.

On top of these social spaces, Pride in London is producing a series of evening events, in the build up to the Pride parade on Saturday 2nd July, and in celebration of Pride Month. Programming includes a wide variety of events, from a soirée with Mint and Exilio to a meaningful discussion with the Outside Project; public events for everyone to enjoy. Visitors even have the chance of winning a MATE bike.

Edward Charlton-Hassal, Deputy Head of Retail and Merchandising at Pride in London said, “It has been a genuine pleasure to be part of Pride in London’s store. I have worked in the retail industry for the best part of 10 years and I have never seen such passion for a project come together. People from across the community united, helping to create the space.”

“Our store is a community hub for LGBT+ individuals and groups to meet and socialise in a safe environment. My favourite moment has been speaking with a mother of two who were attending their first pride this year in Yorkshire. They came for a chat and to understand more about pronouns and how she (mother of two) can be the best ally!”

Pride in Londons store and stalls offer the ocial 50th anniversary clothes and accessories. All profits raised from the store go towards Pride in London’s Unity Fund which directly supports LGBT+ community projects and individuals.

Pride in Londons Unity Fund returns this year with £130,000 in grant funding available for London-based LGBT+ grassroot organisations. The Unity Fund is designed to reinforce LGBT+ communities by supporting grassroot organisations in London whose work directly benefits the lives of LGBT+ people. Applications for the Unity Fund will be opening later in 2022.

Anyone wishing to support the Unity Fund can purchase Pride in Londons merchandise in-store or donate online. The campaign for Pride this year, #AllOurPride, connects the present with five decades of powerful LGBT+ moments, celebrations, and historic community events in London. With a core focus on the importance of the Pride March, the campaign uses black and white historical imagery from archive collections that capture vignettes of the marchs significance, representing all LGBT+ voices from every era. It explores the communitys fight for respect, decriminalisation of love, and the challenging but ultimately victorious battles around Section 28 and the ban on gay men donating blood. In a time of tremendous adversity for the community on many fronts, #AllOurPride reflects the multitude of battles we have been fighting as a country and as a city. It also offers a platform to the communitys ongoing struggles, such as the fight to ensure a ban on conversion therapy for all members of the LGBT+ community.