London’s annual Pride march was disrupted Saturday after climate activists blockaded the road in protest of the event’s reported acceptance of sponsorship from “high-polluting industries.”
The demonstration resulted in multiple arrests after protesters from the climate activist group, Just Stop Oil, obstructed a road in front of a Coca Cola truck. The demonstrators sat in the middle of the road at 1:30 pm, until law enforcement took action 16 minutes later, reported The Guardian.
🏳️🌈 BREAKING: JUST STOP OIL DISRUPTS PRIDE
🧯 LGBTQ+ supporters of Just Stop Oil have disrupted the Pride in London parade, blocking Coca-Cola’s float and spraying black and pink paint over the road.
🧵 A thread on why we’ve disrupted #PrideInLondon: pic.twitter.com/bGjudM9VUl
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) July 1, 2023
“The irony where people protest and will have people protest against them, will not be lost on members of this wonderful community,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Just Sky News.
Seven individuals were arrested on charges of public nuisance. Videos show officers carrying away the protesters from the scene. The parade resumed just one minute after the arrests were made. (RELATED: Two Clowns Glue Themselves To Van Gogh Painting In Bizarre Protest)
“[Pride] has become about advertising, about having huge companies like Coca Cola coming through and just trying to sell their products to people,” Just Stop Oil protester Oliver said in a social media post after getting arrested. “It’s all become about pinkwashing, about rainbow washing.”
Just Stop Oil had previously issued warnings, declaring their intention to take action and demanding the organizers of the event exclude floats sponsored by companies associated with high pollution. They also called on Pride organizers to condemn new oil, gas and coal initiatives.
“We call on all individuals, groups and organisations to give this space the respect and focus it deserves in an increasingly hostile and unsafe world,” an event spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a written statement.
“The LGBTQ+ supporters of Just Stop Oil have taken action against Pride in London today, because the organisation is working with industries complicit in worsening the climate crisis,” Just Stop Oil tweeted.