As London prepares for it 46th Pride parade this weekend, what is the property sector doing to celebrate?
The parade tomorrow will mark the end of Pride Festival in the capital, which began on Saturday 9 June. Since then, a number of real estate professionals have got together to prepare events and other fundraising efforts. Here are just a few examples of what the industry is doing to celebrate over the next month.
Friday 6 July
Pride Boxing, Porchester Hall, 5-10pm
Kelly Canterford, senior surveyor at JLL, is competing in Pride Boxing to raise money for Pride in London.
She has participated in a gruelling 8-week training programme along with other contenders, including Fieldfisher real estate litigation associate Lucie Anne-Rhodes, to get ready for the big night.
Commenting on why she decided to take part, Canterford said: “I wanted to try something different and it seemed a good idea when my friend suggested it. Also, it is a personal thing as I had a serious back injury a few years ago and I like to challenge myself.”
Saturday 7 July
Breakfast reception and parade, starting at Cushman & Wakefield, 43-45 Portman Square, 10.45am – 12pm
Freehold, an LGBT support network for property professionals, will be joining up with the sector’s diversity and inclusion group, Changing the Face of Property, for this Saturday’s Pride parade.
Overall, 130 members of both groups and their guests will attend a pre-Pride breakfast on Saturday at Cushman & Wakefield’s offices in Portman Place and around 80 people will be participating in the Parade from 1pm.
Freehold members will also be participating in Pride celebrations in Glasgow, Norwich and Manchester later this summer.
For more information about these events or to join Freehold, which now has more than 1,200 members, follow @freeholdLGBT
Read more on property’s diversity efforts:
BPF president Rob Noel’s diversity agenda
How LGBT allies in property can make a difference
BL unveils LGBT targets for 2020
4-12 August
Gay Games 10, Paris
Looking further ahead, Tyron Williams, the UK diversity & inclusion manager for BNP Paribas Real Estate, will be heading to Paris this August for another sporting event to celebrate Pride. He will be taking part in Gay Games 10, a global event which celebrates diversity. The four-yearly event will include 36 sporting events as well as cultural events and nearly 15,000 competitors will take part.
Williams will be participating in the “Rookies” boxing, which is open to anyone with two-to-four years of experience in the sport. Depending on his success, Tyron may also be taking part in the 5km run.
He said: “Gay Games is an extremely important event for promoting equality, combatting discrimination and fostering inclusion for everyone, including the LGBT community, people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with disabilities.
“I’ve started my training already and I am really looking forward to getting my gloves back on – hopefully I will come away with the win.”
Pic credit: Stephen Chung/LNP/REX/Shutterstock
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