The atmosphere was electric. As far as the eye could see, people danced, sang and marched, the rainbow flag draped over their shoulders.

On Saturday, more than one million people gathered in London to celebrate Pride. But for some attendees, this year's march had an extra significance. 

It is almost 50 yearsThis year's London Pride parade retraced the route from 1972.  to the day since Andrew Lumsden stepped out alongside 700 others for London's first official Lesbian and Gay Pride march. The event, held on 1 July 1972, was part of a protest about how the community was treated by the police.

"The police weren't there to protect us," Lumsden recalls. "They were there to make sure that they could arrest us if they thought we were going to damage anything." 

Around the world, LGBTQ+ were starting to fight for their rights. Three years earlier, in New York City, transgender women of colour Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia RiveraIn 2019, New York City announced that Johnson and Rivera will get a statue to recognise their contribution to the gay rights' movement.  had been a part of the riots that had kickstarted a global movement. They were fighting back against police officers who were raiding one of the city's only gay bars at the time: The Stonewall Inn.

The Stonewall riots that followed were the start of the modern gay rights' movement. Every year, Pride Month is held in June in honour of those protests.

In the last five decades, LGBTQ+ people have won new rights around the world. Homosexuality is no longer illegal anywhere in Europe. As of FridaySwitzerland legalised same sex marriage on 1 July 2022 after a referendum. , same-sex mariage is now legal in 31 countries. In the Western world, there has been a huge rise in the number of celebrities and politicians who are open about their sexuality.

As a result, Pride parades are mostly joyful events about celebrating love and acceptance. In the UK, Brighton Pride attracts big celebrity performers such as Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue. This year, London's mayor Sadiq Khan stood alongside international artists Ava Max and Emeli Sande. 

Brands often embrace rainbow flags in June to appeal to LGBTQ+ customers. Today, companies pay up to around £145,000 to sponsor the annual Pride parade in New York City.

But some say that LGBTQ+ people should return to the spirit of protest that inspired Pride.

"Pride isn't a party, it's a time for queer people to fight again for their rights," writes the journalist Owen Jones. "Pride today is totally different from 1972," adds campaigner Peter TatchellTatchell was one of the organisers of the first Pride march in London. . "It's too corporate; more of a party than a protest." 

The fight for equality is far from over. Homosexuality is still illegal in nearly 70 countries around the world. In six of those countries, it is punishable by death.

Last month, two people were killed in an attack on an LGBTQ+ venue in Oslo, Norway, just hours before the city's Pride parade was due to begin. And in the US, millions expressed outrage after Supreme Court Justice Clarence ThomasOne of the more conservative members of the Supreme Court. His nomination to the Court was controversial, because he had been accused of sexual misconduct by Anita Hill, a former member of his staff. appeared to suggest the court should reconsider the right for same-sex couples to marry. 

"Progress in LGBTQ rights has not simply ground to a halt, it is screeching into reverse," Jones writes. 

In London, organisers insist the party mood has not come at the cost of the event's original message: "Pride at its core will always be a protest."

Yes: Pride should be a protest, not a corporate-sponsored parade. Recent events show that progress is never guaranteed. It is time to show the rage and determination of the 1960s and 1970s.

No: Pride is still a party.  It is a time for LGBTQ+ people to celebrate how far they have come, in a space where they can be completely themselves - and have fun while they do it.

Or... Pride can be a protest and a party. The joyful refusal to be intimidated is almost a form of protest in itself. The calls for justice have not been forgotten among the fantastic outfits and singers.