Soho, Amplified: Why W London Is the Cultural Heartbeat of Pride 2025

Lifestyle

Pride may be a party, but it began as something far more urgent. When the UK’s first Pride march took place in 1972, it was a courageous act of defiance. Just 2,000 people walked through the streets of London that day, inspired by the events of Stonewall in New York City three years earlier. They were not met with glitter or grandstands, but with suspicion, silence and in some cases, police brutality. What we now know as a global celebration of identity and love was born from protest, persistence and the sheer audacity to be visible in a world that wanted LGBTQ+ lives to remain hidden.

Long before queer bars were listed on Google Maps, there were whispers of safe spaces behind doors that didn’t always stay safe for long. One of the most notorious examples of early queer persecution occurred in 1901 in Mexico City, when 42 high-society men were arrested at a private gathering for wearing ball gowns. It was deemed illicit at the time, and although 42 were arrested, only one was mysteriously released. Rumour has it he was the son of a powerful government official. Since the incident, the number 41 became culturally taboo across Mexico. Rumour has it that some hotels and hospitals refused to use it, and people would even avoid celebrating their 41st birthday. It became an unspoken number, a numerical symbol of queer shame and, paradoxically, queer resilience.

Across the Atlantic, London bore its own shadows. In 1895, Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years’ hard labour for “gross indecency” after his romantic relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, better known as Bosie, was exposed in a scandal that gripped the press and shattered Wilde’s career. The trial was less about justice and more a public crucifixion of queer identity at a time when coded glances and secret letters were the only safe ways to express love. Soho’s present-day vibrancy exists in stark contrast to those decades of erasure, where men like Wilde were jailed for their affections. Pride in London isn’t just a celebration; it’s a reclaiming of stories that were once forced underground.

These stories, etched into the memory of cities across the globe, still matter. Today, Pride is about making sure they are not forgotten.

That’s where W London comes in. This year, the hotel is not just putting up rainbow bunting and calling it a celebration. In the heart of Soho, long the capital’s unofficial queer headquarters, W London is creating a space where expression, remembrance and creativity converge. Through a thoughtfully curated series of events, the hotel is placing LGBTQ+ culture and community at the centre of Pride 2025, partnering with Queer Britain, Club Stamina and Sounds Queer to offer programming that is layered, vibrant and meaningful.

Pride With Purpose: From Protest to Perception

The week begins with We Are Queer Britain, a free photography exhibition running from 18 June to 7 July inside the W Lounge. Created in collaboration with Queer Britain, the UK’s first national LGBTQ+ museum, the exhibition is more than just a display of images. It is a 150-year visual journey through queer history, from early Pride marches to contemporary cultural icons. These photos don’t just show what has changed, but what we’ve carried with us: resilience, resistance, joy and the ever-evolving language of identity.

On July 2, W London opens the floor for a deeper conversation. Activism & Social Change, a panel held in the Perception Bar, will be moderated by Queer Britain’s Andrew Given. Speakers include Lisa Power MBE, a founding member of Stonewall and one of the UK’s most influential LGBTQ+ activists, as well as Lewis Corner, Editorial Director at Time Out London. They will explore how rights have been won, what setbacks we’ve faced and what still needs to change, especially for those in the community who remain marginalised.

The event is intimate, ticketed and designed to feel more like a salon than a seminar. This is not rainbow-washing. This is reality-checking.

Rhythm and Revolution

Pride’s roots run deep in music. From the underground ballrooms of New York, where Black and Latinx trans women invented whole worlds of movement and language, to Soho’s queer discos in the 1980s, where dancing was both an escape and a means of survival, sound has always been a tool of liberation.

On 4 July, W London brings this spirit to life with a Pride edition of its AMPLIFIED live music series. Partnering with Sounds Queer, a collective dedicated to uplifting LGBTQIA+ artists, the night promises genre-bending performances from musicians who blur boundaries and push culture forward. Expect everything from soul to synths, from spoken word to sound system energy, all in an intimate setting that makes space for every beat and every identity.

The momentum builds on 5 July with a takeover from Club Stamina, one of London’s most electrifying new queer club nights. Founded by DJ and stylist Mina Galán, Stamina is known for its daring line-ups and exuberant dancefloors. Think pulsing bass, glitter-streaked cheeks, fluid fashion and absolute freedom. It is more than a party. It is a contemporary expression of the kind of energy that once thrived behind door number 13, but now takes centre stage in one of Soho’s most iconic venues.

Not Just a Backdrop, But a Beacon

It is easy to forget that Soho itself was once a refuge for misfits, artists and queer souls, long before it became a postcode synonymous with nightlife. Today, W London sits right at the intersection of past and present, offering more than a luxurious stay. It is a space for creative convergence, for radical hospitality and for rethinking what it means to celebrate Pride in 2025.

At a time when many brands commodify queerness for one month and return to business as usual, W London is doing something different. The hotel is not just waving the flag. It is inviting people inside. Inside a story, a soundscape, a conversation and, most importantly, a community.

This Pride season, if you are looking for the heart of the action and the soul of the movement, W London is where it all comes together.

For more information visit W London

For ticket information visit HERE

W London

Address: 10 Wardour St, London W1D 6QF

Phone: 020 7758 1000

Words by Jheanelle Feanny