Every year, millions of people around the world take to the streets to both recognise and celebrate Pride. It is a rainbow-emblazoned celebration of all that it means to be part of the LGBTQ+ communities.

The parades are significant because they are emblematic of a greater movement towards diversity, a moment for long-marginalised communities to stand side by side in support of one another. But this year will be markedly different as the lockdown extends across the UK and these parades are unable to take place as usual. 

While we are unable to physically parade, a new grassroots campaign Pride Inside has partnered with Clear Channel to take these moments of pride and celebration to the UK’s streets this summer. The brainchild of writer, performer and drag star Ginger Johnson, the campaign aims to represent the full spectrum of the diverse LGBTQ+ community, with more than 120 queer contributors and photographers teaming up to create images from their homes or local public spaces while socially distancing. The photography was co-ordinated by award-winning music and events photographer Corinne Cumming.

The images will then run for two weeks from Monday 15th June 2020 across 1,000 digital OOH screens around the UK, with a potential combined reach of over 10 million people. The aim is to bring visibility to the LGBTQ+ community and to ensure that the spirit of Pride is kept alive and well.

Johnson said of the campaign that “Pride has always been an opportunity for us all to learn about each other - to honour our shared experiences, our differences and our collective resilience.” Pride Inside’s aim is to foster a sense of community and shared experience by encouraging people around the UK to share their own images under #PrideInsideUK.

Pride Inside are also hoping to raise awareness of and funds for the work being done by grassroot LGBTQ+ charities around the UK to support these communities.

The importance of diverse representation extends to the people both in front of and behind the lens. The stories being told depend on the gaze through which they’re communicated; it’s the gaze that needs to be just as diverse as the subject itself. The Pride Inside campaign gives these creatives, and people around the UK, the chance to choose how they’d like to be represented, on a nationwide platform.