Pride Parade

1 of 12 Lucy McAlister left, Moira Clenaghan and Yaz Merchant, who dressed to a Mad Hatter's Tea Party theme, were glad London's Gay Pride event had retained a political element.

2 of 12 Robert Mills, left, and Neil Young thought the £25 price ticket for the park event could squeeze a lot of younger people out. "It was free when I first went 10 years ago," said Robert.

3 of 12 Tim Gutteridge said: "The theme this year is many communities, one diffuse city. I used the London Underground map, as it has all the colours of the Freedom Flag, and incorporated the icons of London, such as Canary Wharf."

4 of 12 Janet Copestake, right, was at the Pride event with her daughter. She said: "Megan is gay and I'm just a proud mum."

5 of 12 Craig Smith was glad the Trafalgar Square element of the event was free. "It brings it back to people just being able to join in if they want to and that's great," he said.

6 of 12 The crowds packed Trafalgar Square and spread right up the steps to the National Gallery

7 of 12 Loie, from the Philippines, went along in a colourful bird of paradise costume.

8 of 12 Taz Edwards, left, pictured with Orianne Mouzet, thought the Pride event lacked the number of costumes and energy of past years. "But people have still made the most of it, despite the earlier rain," she said.

9 of 12 One flowery trio pose for pictures during the march

10 of 12 Ken Livingstone and Ian McKellen joined what is believed to be Europe's largest gay festival

11 of 12 Long-legged dancers stride along in the march

12 of 12 A contingent of gay police officers joined the Pride Parade