Piccadilly Circus
Four hundred people, and no arrests
The statue at the centre of this junction is not Eros – it’s the Angel of Christian Charity, designed by Alfred Gilbert in 1893. The irony is perfect. From the 1930s, the iron railings around its base became known as the Dilly – the gathering point for the Dilly boys, young men who sold sex in the streets and alleys around the circus. Gay men met here in plain sight for decades, invisible to anyone who wasn’t looking. On 1 July 1972 the first UK Gay Pride march passed this spot. On 5 May 1990, OutRage! held a mass kiss-in here and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence made their first British appearance. London Pride still marches past every summer.