Why Pride organisers face 'the most serious financial challenge in movement's history'

The company behind London's Pride parade recorded a £120,726 loss in 2024, latest accounts show.

The entity that runs the capital's annual LGBT+ event had made £204,368 in profit the previous year.

It comes as Pride organisations have been struggling with running costs. Major cities across the UK had either paused the running of full events or became insolvent in 2025.

The organisations behind Liverpool and Plymouth Pride parades did not hold their annual events last year because of financial and organisational challenges, while Manchester Pride was put into voluntary liquidation, leaving artists, suppliers and freelancers unpaid.

Pride organisers are facing "the most serious financial challenge in the movement's history", Dee Llewellyn, chair of the UK Pride Organisers Network (UKPON), said.

"The cost of delivering safe, inclusive Pride events - including production, staging, security and infrastructure - is increasing by around 15 to 20% year on year.

"At the same time, we are seeing a marked decline in corporate engagement, particularly from companies headquartered in the United States, influenced by the current political climate."

The UK's biggest LGBT+ charity, Stonewall, reported that corporate donations had halved to £143,149 in the 2025 financial year, down from £348,636 in 2024.

What's happening with Pride in London?

Pride in London's accounts do not detail 2025 finances, a year in which it obtained a High Court injunction against its chief executive, Christopher Joell-Deshields, to return control of bank accounts to the organisation.

The company said Mr Joell-Deshields has been on a leave of absence since 29 August and due to a "long and protracted exercise" to regain control of "key organisational systems" from him, the company's accounts were filed more than three months late.

Mr Joell-Deshields declined to comment.

A spokesperson for the company behind Pride in London, London LGBT Community Pride CIC (LLCPC), said a compulsory strike-off action filed by Companies House, which has since been discontinued, was due to "a number of operational challenges" which delayed the accounts filing and updated information being processed at Companies House.

They said the organisation's finances were "stable", and it looks forward to a successful Pride in London 2026, despite it being a challenging time for Pride organisations.

In November, a LLCPC spokesperson told Sky News the accounts would be visible on Companies House within 10 working days.

The latest accounts for 2024 said the company benefits from a "secure long-term funding framework, through its significant funding commitment from the Greater London Authority, which extends through 2027".

The organisation attracted 33,000 participants to the London Pride parade and doubled the number of employees from two in 2023 to four in 2024, the accounts read.

(c) Sky News 2026: Why Pride organisers face 'the most serious financial challenge in movement's history'