Pride in London 2017: Barclays leads host of Britain’s biggest firms in support of LGBT+ event

City stalwarts and some of the UK’s largest companies have rallied in support of Pride in London 2017.

A raft of the great and the good from the corporate world have stepped up to sponsor the event. Barclays is one of two headline sponsors together with the Mayor of London office.

This year’s event takes place from 24 June to 9 July, with the parade and main parade on Saturday 8 July. A broad range of activities is on offer including culture, art, sports, tours and talks. Last year 40,000 people joined the Pride in London parade and as many as a million people took to the capital’s streets to celebrate.

Michael Roemer, who is Barclays’ global LGBT+ lead alongside being the group chief compliance officer, said Pride in London is “a highlight of the LGBT+ calendar in the UK and a key element in our own programme of activities in support of diversity and inclusion in the workplace”.

Read more: London Pride 2016: The Bank of England will fly the rainbow flag

Co-chairs of Pride in London, Alison Camps and Michael Salter-Church, added Barclays’ “solid backing” had created a “stable bedrock upon which a dedicated team of volunteers has been able to build Pride in London”.

PwC are the only one of the “Big Four” beancounters to sponsor the event, while there is just one representative from the insurance sector – French giant Axa.

The insurer said around 100 Axa staff are expected to be part of the Pride in London Parade this year.

Read more: Pride 2016: London march in photos

“We are very proud to sponsor Pride in London this year and applaud the excellent work that Pride in London has done to date. We wholeheartedly agree with their ethos that everyone should be comfortable being themselves at work or at home, regardless of their background,” said Axa UK chief marketing officer Darrell Sansom.

City law firm CMS is one of three gold sponsors alongside Tesco and Starbucks.

Citigroup is the only other bank to provide sponsorship, while FTSE 100 giant Vodafone is also backing the event.