We spoke to one of our salon Guests - Hol Paulman, who plans to attend a Pride celebration for e first time this year. 

“In the years before the pandemic, I was out to my friends, I was really scared to go to Pride, even in cities i wasnt known. Because I’m bisexual, I kind of pass as straight a lot, and so that created a type of anxiety with me for years, making me feel like I didn't really belong in the LGBTQ+ community.”

“The pandemic helped me realize I need to celebrate life when I can. It’s like being cooped up made me want to burst out. So I’m fully vaccinated and making plans with friends to go all out this year, if I can.”

Hol plans to go to London Pride to celebrate. "I really see Pride as being larger than just an event held by one organization. It's about gathering and celebrating.

Did you know? In the last few decades, Pride has been celebrated in cities around the globe with bigger and bigger events such as parades, marches, madi gras and protests. In June 2019, an estimated 5 million people attended NYC’s annual Pride march, which moves to a different city each year. In June 2020 the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march — previously known as Christopher Street Liberation Day — which began a year after the Stonewall Riots, a dayslong protest that began after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Manhattan, US. 

In April 2020, the pandemic brought plans for the 50th anniversary of Pride to a halt, forcing event organizers across the globe to pivot to an all-virtual experience. Now, Pride — in London and beyond — will return with a mix of in-person and virtual events. Organizers are balancing concerns about safety with increasing vaccination rates and the LGBTQ community’s excitement to return to Pride after a year of social distancing.