London to host its first Transgender Pride festival this year

London is set to host its first ever Transgender Pride festival.

Earlier this week, performers Lucia Blake and Finn Love posted a Facebook event to announce the festival, which is scheduled to take place in the capital on Saturday 14 April in Hackney, east London.

According to the social media page, the festival will include “live music, performances, a series of stalls from LGBTQIA+ organisations, panels/talks from inspirational trans people, artwork that explores our identity and much more”.

Organisers state that festival – which is known as London Trans Pride 2019 – is specifically aimed at trans, non-binary, intersex and gender nonconforming people “as well as all gender identities”.

“It is for people that think they might be trans+, but maybe aren’t sure,” a segment from the page reads. “It is for anyone who needs to escape the transphobic hegemony of cis-patriarchy.”

The festival’s organisers said they felt inspired to create the event following the “hijacking” of Pride in London 2018 by anti-trans campaigners.

At last year’s event, a group of campaigners carried banners and flyers stating “transactivism erases lesbians” and describing the trans movement as “anti-lesbianism”.

“Last year’s transphobic protests and the all too familiar centring of cis-white gay-male narratives at Pride in London certainly informed our decision,” London Trans Pride 2019 told PinkNews.

“We realised collectively that it’s time for us to own our stories, to celebrate them and to take up the space we deserve outside and in broad daylight.”

The Facebook page’s description of the event shares the organisers’ view that they believe the media is controlling the way trans people are perceived, and want to “create a space that centres trans people and allows us to take ownership over our narrative”.

“We hope to make this day special, inclusive, memorable and historical,” it continues.

A number of people on Twitter have celebrated the announcement of the festival.

“I’m so excited that trans pride London is on my birthday, like what a great present,” one user commented.

Another added: “SCREAM!!! London Trans Pride is actually happening”.

“Great to see that the first London Trans Pride's going to be in Hackney, same as @ukblackpride,” wrote another. “A role model to local authorities in how to focus on lifting up all groups within the LGBT community.”

News of the festival follows similar events that have taken place in Leeds and Dublin in recent months.

Details about the location and more information about London Trans Pride 2019 will be released in due course.